Ukraine spy case: Scottish ex-military instructor jailed for more than eight years in Ukraine for Russian espionage World News

A Scottish man who traveled to Ukraine to work as a military instructor has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to spying for Russia.Ross David Cattermole, from Dunfermline, Fife, pleaded guilty in an Odessa court to passing sensitive military information to Russia while Ukraine was still under martial law, Ukrainian media outlet Slidstvo-Info reported.Cattermole arrived in the country in January 2024 to serve as a foreign military trainer.Ukrainian authorities said he later abandoned that position and began contacting pro-Kremlin online groups in search of what officials described as “easy money.”Officials said he was eventually recruited by an official with ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), who allegedly paid him in exchange for information.Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said Cattermole passed on coordinates related to Ukrainian military positions, details of foreign coaches and photos of training sites.He is also accused of collecting information on Odessa installations and trying to gain access to military command structures.Officials said he received about $6,000, or about £4,400, on one assignment.Ukrainian authorities further claimed that Cattermole discussed potential terrorist attacks and was instructed to prepare explosive devices.Officials said he was given instructions on assembling the improvised bomb and directed to a hidden weapons cache that contained a Makarov pistol and loaded magazines.Counterintelligence officers arrested him in October 2024 before any planned attack could be carried out.Cattermole later admitted his involvement in the April 30 proceedings in Odessa’s Kiev District Court and agreed to cooperate with the investigation as part of a plea deal.He was convicted under Ukrainian laws on unauthorized disclosure of military information and illegal possession of weapons and ammunition.