The counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine has successfully apprehended two individuals from the People's Republic of China in Kyiv who attempted to illegally export classified documents regarding the Ukrainian RK-360MC «Neptune» missile system.

This unique weapon is an integral part of Ukraine's defense forces, designed for targeting all types of combat and landing ships. It is worth noting that the «Neptune» was responsible for the destruction of the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet – the cruiser «Moskva».

Investigations revealed that one of the spies is a 24-year-old former student of a Kyiv technical university who remained in the city after being expelled in 2023 due to academic failure.

The other suspect is his father, who lived permanently in China but periodically visited Ukraine to personally manage his son's espionage activities.

According to the case materials, the former student was tasked with acquiring technical documentation on the production of Ukrainian «Neptunes».

To achieve this, he attempted to recruit a Ukrainian citizen involved in the development of advanced weapons for the defense forces.

The SBU counterintelligence uncovered the spy at the initial stage of his reconnaissance activities and detained him «in the act» during the transfer of secret documents.

The next step involved the arrest of his father, who was to pass the classified information to Chinese intelligence.

During searches of both suspects, phones containing evidence of their correspondence coordinating their espionage activities were seized.

Based on the collected evidence, the investigators of the Security Service notified the detained individuals of suspicion under part 1 of Article 114 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (espionage).

The suspects face up to 15 years in prison with asset confiscation.

Comprehensive measures were conducted under the procedural guidance of the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office.