Australian Police Charge Dual Citizen with Passing Ukrainian Military Secrets to Russia

Australian authorities have charged a dual Russian-Australian citizen with attempting to transmit sensitive Ukrainian military data to individuals he believed were connected to Russian intelligence.

The 27-year-old suspect faced a court appearance in Brisbane on Friday to address charges of foreign interference. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett stated during a news conference that the man traveled to Russia for training in October 2024 before returning to Australia and sustaining communication with contacts suspected of ties to Moscow’s intelligence apparatus.

According to police allegations, the individual enlisted in the Ukrainian military in May 2025, which provided him access to operational details concerning military personnel, units, and geographic locations. Commissioner Barrett noted that the suspect transmitted this acquired information to parties he assumed acted on behalf of Russian intelligence, thereby endangering Ukrainian military personnel.

“We don’t want Australia to become a safe haven for people who are undertaking foreign interference on behalf of other countries,” Barrett stated. The unemployed suspect's identity remains undisclosed, and authorities confirmed no evidence suggests he underwent military training within Australia. Investigators executed search warrants and indicated that additional arrests linked to the matter remain possible following a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation spy agency.

“This case should put regimes perpetrating foreign interference on notice: we have zero tolerance,” said ASIO Deputy Director-General Claire McGuinness.

The Russian embassy in Australia stated it lacked prior knowledge of the situation. In an email to the AFP news agency, the embassy noted that no official notifications or requests had reached the embassy or the Consulate General in Sydney from Australian authorities or the individual involved, adding that available channels are being utilized to determine the circumstances.

In related developments, Russian authorities reported the arrest of nine individuals on charges of aiding Ukrainian intelligence. State media outlet TASS reported that eight suspects possessed 35 explosive-laden drones smuggled from the European Union, which were allegedly intended for an attack on a strategic defense enterprise in the Moscow region. In a separate incident near the Norwegian border, the FSB security service detained an unidentified foreign national accused of attempting to launch a surveillance drone over Moscow to assist Ukrainian intelligence, intercepting the individual as he attempted to flee on foot toward Norway.