Russia’s intelligence services are exploiting Ukraine’s wartime economy to enlist civilians for espionage. According to reporting by Politico, the model is simple: advertise easy, quick-pay “jobs” on Telegram, offer a few hundred hryvnias per task, and gradually move recruits from harmless errands to sensitive surveillance. In a conflict now in its fourth year, the promise of even a little extra income can be enough to pull vulnerable people into networks run from across the border.
The case study: Olena and Bohdan
Politico centres its account on Olena, 19, and Bohdan, 22, a couple now facing trial for high treason. Under SBU escort, they recently met in a detention centre for the first time in a month and admitted cooperating with Russian handlers, hoping a confession will bring a 15-year sentence rather than life.
Investigators say their missions escalated quickly: first photographing supermarket shelves and prices, then placing hidden cameras near a police station, later along a railway used to move Western weapons, and finally preparing to identify air-defence positions around Kyiv and Chernihiv. They were arrested before those locations could be passed on.
Both describe the economic pressure that primed them for recruitment. She worked up to 16 hours a day in a fast-food kitchen; he relied on casual day jobs. When they considered cutting ties, fear of retaliation kept them in. Politico reports that payments for their tasks ranged from 400 to 3,000 hryvnias (roughly €8 - €62).
SBU officials quoted by Politico say low-level recruits like Olena and Bohdan are used to photograph military and energy sites, track troop movements and carry out small arson or sabotage attempts to help Russia select targets for missiles and drones. After nearly four years of war, ideology is rarely the driver; survival is. Most recruits are poor, indebted or without steady work.
A surge in treason investigations
The internal threat is visible in the caseload. Since February 2022, Ukrainian authorities have investigated more than 24,000 crimes against national security, including over 4,000 high-treason cases, with more than 2,300 already in court. The State Bureau of Investigations has opened around 1,500 treason cases involving officials, judges, military personnel and security officers. Politico’s reporting situates these numbers within a broader Russian effort to destabilise Ukraine through espionage, cyber operations and the exploitation of social hardship.
For residents in occupied territories, the boundary between survival and collaboration is blurred. As highlighted in Politico’s piece, human rights advocates warn that courts must account for people who interacted with occupation authorities simply to access work or food. Those with resources often hire experienced lawyers and contest charges; poorer defendants tend to plead guilty in hopes of a reduced sentence, in courts that frequently accept prosecutorial claims.
What lies ahead
For Olena and Bohdan, the future is already on hold. They expect to serve long prison terms before rebuilding their lives. Bohdan rejects the idea of early release in exchange for front-line service, telling Politico he would rather serve his sentence than “lose his life for nothing.”
Politico’s investigation underscores a central challenge for Kyiv, countering Russia’s intelligence reach not only at the front, but also in the economic and social vulnerabilities that turn ordinary Ukrainians into reluctant assets.