Today at 01:03
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) eliminated a hitman of Russian military intelligence and detained his accomplices who were preparing high-profile assassinations in Ukraine. More than 10 members of the agent-combat group have been taken into custody; they face life imprisonment. The SSU effectively uncovers agent networks, spies, and traitors, ensuring the internal security of Ukrainians. The special service also conducts operations in occupied territories, in the enemy’s rear, and at sea. On SSU Day, UATV English reports on how this law enforcement agency has, over the years of the full-scale invasion, become one of the most effective combat units.
In just the first month of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the SSU detained more than 350 members of sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The fight against Russian recruiters is also ongoing.
“Enemy intelligence agents are being exposed on a mass scale, and in the course of multi-stage special operations, attempts by enemy military intelligence to transfer militants from the Middle East to Ukraine have been neutralized. Among other things, the identity of a person involved in selecting and recruiting mercenaries for the invading army has been uncovered,” said Artem Dekhtyarenko, spokesperson for the Security Service of Ukraine.
SSU investigators also document the enemy’s crimes. Evidence of these crimes includes intercepted conversations of Russian army soldiers obtained by the Security Service.
At the end of 2022, the special service focused on naval operations. Thus, on October 8, the explosion of the Kerch Bridge was organized, significantly complicating the enemy’s transfer of equipment and ammunition. This operation became the first successful strike on a key transport artery of the Russian Federation. After that, the Kerch Bridge was attacked by the SSU two more times. It is now in an аварийное состояние and no longer serves as a powerful logistical artery.
“The Crimean Bridge, although it remains a symbol of occupation, no longer has the practical significance it once had. Nevertheless, Ukraine continues to attempt to destroy this monument of occupation by all available means. But we do this carefully, because it may require tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in effort,” commented military analyst and former SSU officer (2004–2015) Ivan Stupak.
In 2022, the SSU first used a Ukrainian-made naval drone. These are unique unmanned surface and underwater vehicles — MAGURA V5, Sea Baby, “Mamai,” “Marichka,” and “Toloka.” As a result of the first attack in Sevastopol Bay, four Russian vessels were damaged. In 2023, the SSU presented two models of naval drones — Sea Baby and “Kozak Mamai.” In the summer of the same year, “Mamai” struck the large landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak and the military oil tanker SIG. Thus, Ukraine demonstrated that it could strike targets even in the port of Novorossiysk.
According to Western experts, by early 2024 Ukraine had destroyed or disabled one-fifth of the ships of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, including the flagship cruiser Moskva. After this, Russia was forced to withdraw its ships to Novorossiysk. At the same time, the Security Service intensified long-range strikes deep into Russian territory. With the help of drones, Ukraine’s Defense Forces managed to disable 14% of the aggressor country’s oil-refining capacity.
“According to an assessment by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, the shutdown of part of Russia’s oil-refining capacity led to an increase in domestic oil prices by 20–30% by mid-March and caused the suspension of exports in order to focus efforts on meeting domestic demand,” Bloomberg reports.
In January 2025, Security Service drones struck the port of Ust-Luga, damaging tanks with gas condensate. In addition, the SSU carried out a series of attacks on oil extraction infrastructure facilities in the Caspian and Mediterranean Seas; about 20 oil and gas wells ceased operations.
The most successful and daring operation of the Security Service in 2025 was Operation “Web.” It was prepared for more than 18 months. More than a hundred drones were delivered to Russian territory by trucks and launched at four air bases in the Irkutsk, Murmansk, Ryazan, and Ivanovo regions. At least 13 aircraft were destroyed, more than a third of the aggressor country’s military aviation was damaged, and losses are estimated at $7 billion.
“The Ukrainian special service has done something that will be studied over the next 20 years in most military academies of the world, in most leading institutions that train intelligence specialists. This will be the most vivid operation to be studied alongside operations previously carried out by Israel’s Mossad and other special services,” Stupak emphasized.
The German newspaper Die Welt called the Ukrainian attack a huge disgrace for Putin and his military. It was a blow not only to Russia’s strategic forces but also to the image of the Kremlin leader. The attack exposed the weakness of the Russian state, and Ukraine once again proved that it is capable of changing the course of the war, analysts of the Polish publication Gazeta Wyborcza wrote. The Israeli Times of Israel compared the ingenuity of Operation “Web” with the operation to detonate the pagers of Lebanese Hezbollah militants. The BBC and The Washington Post compared the surprise of the operation to the sudden Japanese attack on the American base at Pearl Harbor.
NATO called “Web” Kyiv’s most successful operation, as it significantly limited Russia’s ability to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian territory. The Alliance emphasized that Kyiv has every right to attack the aggressor’s military facilities.
“Let us not forget that the targets they struck are precisely those that the Russians used to attack civilians going about their daily lives in Ukrainian cities and towns. I think we should truly take this into account,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The combat operations of the Security Service are being carried out exactly as Ukraine needs, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized. Although most of them cannot be publicly discussed, the results are evident.
“Your combat results have positively influenced all the strategic battles of this war — from the defense of Kyiv to clearing the Black Sea of the aggressor’s presence, from the battles in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions to special operations deep inside enemy territory. In particular, Ukrainians should know and be grateful to you for weakening Russia’s economic potential that fuels the war, for strikes on Russian oil refining,” Zelenskyy noted.
According to him, the Security Service continues to counter all possible sabotage attempts against Ukraine. Any activity by Russian structures is consistently blocked. New combat operations to weaken the aggressor have also already been approved.
As reported, the SSU prevented a terrorist attack with mass casualties in Rivne.
