42-year-old Alexander was born in Ukraine, but agreed to work for Russian intelligence after two Russian agents contacted him. He was convicted of treason and is serving his sentence in penal colony No. 122 in Central Ukraine. His story was told by The New York Times, whose journalists spoke with him in prison, News.bg reports.
Alexander insists that his last name not be published to protect his family. However, he does not hide that he is proud of his work for Russia. He hopes that Moscow will remember him and include him in a future prisoner exchange.
According to the Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Yevhen Pikalov, there are 2,570 Russian spies in Ukrainian prisons, 99% of whom are Ukrainian citizens. Alexander was born in Ukraine, moved to Israel as a child, and holds citizenship of both countries. According to Pikalov, he is the only spy imprisoned in Ukraine with a similar profile.
The former deputy head of the Main Internal Security Service of Ukraine, Viktor Yakhun, divides agents into several categories. The most senior ones are under strict surveillance and are rarely exposed. Detecting one such agent every six months is considered a success. Others are recruited for pay, with Ukraine detaining an estimated 120 of these people a year.
According to Sean Wiswasser, a former CIA station chief with years of experience in the former Soviet Union, people recruited online for small sums of money are often petty criminals, alcoholics or disgruntled soldiers. Alexander seems to fall into these groups: according to the publication, his actions were motivated primarily by ideology. Experts note that Russian services are actively seeking collaborators among the Russian diaspora.
Alexander says he served in the Israeli army until 2011, but refuses to reveal what he did before Russian agents contacted him in France. At first, they asked him general questions to assess his behavior and motives.
“I told them about my ideology. The most important thing for me is to work on the side of truth. And for me, the truth is Russia. So yes, I consider myself, so to speak, part of the “Russian world“,“, he says.
Although he was born in Ukraine, most of his family lives in Russia. Alexander explains that in Israel and Western Europe he felt like a stranger and wanted to return to his roots. His first assignment in Europe was to gather compromising information about a business leader. According to him, the man had an impeccable reputation - he paid his taxes, was faithful to his wife and came home for dinner.
“Frankly, such people are annoying“, Alexander comments. For his work he received about 5,000 euros a month.
After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, he joined chat groups for foreign fighters and expressed a desire to join the Ukrainian army. He never actually served, but he became close to foreign volunteers and went to Ukraine. According to his story, he passed on to Russia the information he learned from the soldiers and tried to thwart their plans.
His activities lasted more than two years, until September 10, 2024. Then a soldier at a checkpoint asked to unlock his phone. During the check, a frame was found that had been sent to Russia, which showed the passport of a Ukrainian serviceman.
“He stuck his nose where it didn't belong“, Alexander says of the checker.
According to Wisweser, such agents, like most spies outside of the most valuable to intelligence services, are ultimately “disposable”. Alexander himself admits that he has only one regret for his actions: “If I could go back in time, the only thing I would change is that I would delete that photo“.