Ukraine Detains Chinese Nationals Accused of Spying on Ukraine’s Missile Technology
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has arrested two Chinese nationals in Kyiv on charges of espionage, accusing them of attempting to smuggle classified missile technology related to Ukaine’s Neptune cruise missile system to China.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to SSU.
According to the SSU, the suspects, a 24-year-old former student of a Kyiv technical university and his father, were gathering sensitive materials linked to the RK-360MC Neptune missile, a key component of Ukraine’s coastal defense capabilities.
The younger suspect reportedly remained in Ukraine after being expelled from university in 2023 due to poor academic performance. His father made repeated visits to Ukraine to personally oversee his son’s espionage activities.
Investigators say the former student attempted to recruit a Ukrainian citizen with ties to advanced weapons development in order to obtain technical documentation on Neptune missile production.
Ukrainian counterintelligence intercepted the operation early and apprehended the suspect in the act of receiving classified documents. His father was later detained as well.
Searches of their residences uncovered phones containing encrypted communications that reportedly coordinated their intelligence gathering efforts.
Both individuals have been officially charged under Ukraine’s Criminal Code, spying on behalf of a foreign state. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison and asset confiscation.
The Neptune missile, developed by Ukraine’s Luch Design Bureau, is a subsonic, land-based, anti-ship cruise missile capable of striking targets up to 280 kilometers (around 174 miles) away. It gained global attention in April 2022, when the missile sank Russia’s Black Sea Fleet flagship, the Moscow cruiser.
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