The document shows that the SBU integrated the Ukrainian diaspora into its intelligence network and conducted counterintelligence activities.
The document shows that the SBU integrated the Ukrainian diaspora into its intelligence network and conducted counterintelligence activities.
By Yiğit Saner
The leaked document reveals that Kyiv has “strengthened its espionage positions” in three of our major cities. The SBU integrated the Ukrainian diaspora into its intelligence network and conducted counterintelligence activities. The leaked confidential communications expose critical secrets not only about Türkiye but also the Crimean Tatars, European diplomatic missions, and nuclear security.
Turkish newspaper Aydınlık has obtained four classified documents belonging to Ukrainian authorities. All the leaked internal communications were prepared by the Mykolaiv Regional Directorate of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). The documents detail requests for commendations to operatives credited with successful intelligence work, outlining their educational background, personal skills, and the reasons for their recognition.
Document 1: We expose Ukraine’s spy
The first document directly concerns Türkiye. Dated March 2024, it names Major Maksym Mykolayovych Harchuk, an officer in the Counterintelligence Division of the SBU based in Mykolaiv (Nikolayev). The official correspondence indicates that Major Harchuk was tasked with building intelligence positions within Ukrainian diaspora groups in Türkiye.
Profile of the officer
Born in 1992, Harchuk graduated from Mykolaiv V.O. Sukhomlynskyi National University in 2014 and completed an SBU training program in 2009. He has been serving within the SBU since 2015 and assumed his current role in March 2023.
The document, signed by Brigadier General Dmytro Nevedrov, head of the SBU Mykolaiv Regional Directorate, describes Harchuk with the following attributes:
“An officer with high operational capacity, composed under pressure, respected among peers, disciplined, capable of safeguarding confidential information, loyal to the state, and a skilled professional.”
Espionage network in Türkiye’s three major cities
According to the document, Major Harchuk has been “strengthening agent positions” within the Ukrainian communities in Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir. This likely implies recruiting new agents, activating dormant assets, or enhancing existing intelligence structures within these diaspora groups.
The correspondence further states that Harchuk organized the collection of operational information on the internal dynamics of Ukraine’s diaspora in Türkiye and the Turkish authorities’ approach toward Ukrainian refugees. This indicates that the officer was not only monitoring potential threats or opposition within the diaspora, but also tracking Ankara’s policies toward Ukraine from within.
Counterintelligence element
Additionally, the document reveals that Major Harchuk detected three separate attempts by foreign intelligence services to recruit Ukrainian citizens residing in Türkiye. This suggests his activities extended beyond information gathering to include counterintelligence operations.
Timeline
The document does not specify when these activities occurred. However, it confirms that Harchuk assumed his current position in March 2023, implying that these operations took place between that date and March 2024.
SBU leadership briefings
The correspondence emphasizes that the outcomes of these operations were reported multiple times to the head of the SBU, Vasyl Maliuk, also known by his nickname “Bulldog.” This underscores the significance the Ukrainian security apparatus attaches to operations within Türkiye.
However, unlike other officers we will present to you, Harchuk is recommended for a Certificate of Appreciation (Gramota) rather than a medal or decoration.
This raises several possibilities:
The operation’s scale was deliberately limited to avoid political friction with Türkiye.
Intelligence, diaspora control, or counterintelligence goals were only partially met.
The operation succeeded tactically but lacked significant strategic outcomes.
Türkiye under intelligence scrutiny
Regardless of the operation’s success, the document exposes Kyiv’s close surveillance of Türkiye through diaspora and intelligence activities. Such operations by foreign powers on Turkish soil are often viewed as national security and sovereignty concerns.
Türkiye: A Continued Scene of the Ukraine Conflict
Following the launch of Russia’s “Special Military Operation” in February 2022, the Ukrainian population in Türkiye grew rapidly. Official data shows 181,000 Ukrainian citizens entered Türkiye at the start of the conflict, though many later departed. Currently, around 37,000 Ukrainians reside in Türkiye with residence permits.
According to Ukrainian media outlet Radio Trek, approximately 20% of Ukrainians in Türkiye are formally employed, 13% work informally, and 25% are self-employed, often in foreign or Ukrainian businesses. Over 40% are unemployed.
As shown in the leaked document, SBU agents operating in Türkiye are not only gathering information among this community but also organizing the diaspora, recruiting operatives, and conducting counterintelligence activities.
Due to its geography and regional policies, Türkiye holds strategic importance for both Ukraine and Russia. As a NATO member and a country maintaining a careful diplomatic balance between the two, Türkiye has become a key stage for both overt and covert intelligence operations related to the ongoing conflict.
TO BE CONTINUED…
The other three leaked documents we will present are related to the Mykolaiv region, called Nikolayev in Russian. Mykolaiv is Ukraine’s second remaining port on the Black Sea after Odesa and also hosts strategic facilities including a nuclear power plant and European diplomatic missions. Two of the upcoming documents focus directly on these critical sites, while tomorrow’s publication will reveal intelligence operations targeting Crimean Tatars across Ukraine and Turkish organizations supporting them.