The Security Service of Ukraine has eliminated another scheme to circumvent sanctions on the supply of Ukrainian products to the Russian Federation. As a result of comprehensive measures, criminals who were selling wholesale batches of domestic heating systems for the needs of the Russian Ministry of Defense were exposed.
Points of attention
- The Security Service of Ukraine uncovered a scheme involving a company from Zhytomyr supplying heating systems to Russian military sanatoriums, circumventing sanctions.
- Criminals were exposed for conducting wholesale shipments of Ukrainian products to the Russian Ministry of Defense through complex routing via the European Union and Belarus.
- The organizer of the illicit deal in Zhytomyr faces up to 12 years in prison with property confiscation, while Russian agents planning a terrorist attack in Zhytomyr were detained with the help of SBU and local police.
- The investigation revealed that the Ukrainian manufacturer secretly sold heating systems to Russian enterprises collaborating with government structures, totaling 65 million hryvnias.
- Detained Russian agents were recruited remotely and planned to execute a terrorist attack in Zhytomyr by preparing explosive devices disguised in unusual ways.
SSU exposed a company from Zhytomyr that traded with Russia
According to the case materials, the head of the sales department of a Zhytomyr company that produces heating boilers and convectors was involved in organizing the transaction.
It has been established that since May 2022, the Ukrainian manufacturer has been secretly selling products to Russian enterprises that cooperate with Russian government structures.
Among the main customers of the Ukrainian firm was a company in Kursk, which supplied heating systems to military sanatoriums of the aggressor country.
To avoid sanctions, the defendants initially sent Ukrainian products to affiliated companies in the European Union and Central Asia.
There, the goods were "repackaged" under the details of foreign companies and re-exported to a controlled enterprise in Belarus, and from there to Russia.
According to this "scheme", the defendants transported several wholesale shipments of Ukrainian heating systems to the Russian Federation for a total amount of 65 million hryvnias.
During searches at the address of the manufacturing company and the home of the organizer of the transaction, mobile phones, computers, and documents containing evidence of crimes were discovered.
The perpetrator is being held without bail. He faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
What is known about the detained Russian agents?
Russian agents planned to organize a terrorist attack in Zhytomyr. They prepared an explosion against a police unit that was supposed to arrive at the scene following a false call.
According to the SBU, two residents of the Dnipropetrovsk region were involved in this crime. They were recruited by Russian special services remotely through Telegram channels that offered quick and "easy" earnings.
According to the instructions received, the attackers arrived in Zhytomyr by bus. Immediately after their arrival, they received the coordinates of a hiding place via messenger, from where they took two packages with improvised explosive devices prepared for a terrorist attack.
Before that, the agents rented an apartment in the city, which they used as a base for preparing the crime. There they placed explosives: one disguised in a soft toy, and the other connected to a mobile phone whose camera recorded the entrance to the apartment.
