A British man has been arrested in Kyiv for allegedly spying for Russia and helping to facilitate the assassinations of high-profile Ukrainians.
Ross David Cutmore, 40, is accused of being hired by Russia’s FSB intelligence service to “carry out targeted killings on the territory of Ukraine” between 2024 and 2025.
Mr Cutmore, originally from Dunfermline, has been accused of importing and distributing arms used in the killings of two activists and a politician in Ukraine.
The Briton arrived in Ukraine in 2024 and helped train recruits in the city of Mykolaiv.
Mr Cutmore has been accused of importing and distributing arms used in the killings of two activists and a politician
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Early reports suggested the 40-year-old was a British Army veteran, however it is understood that he does not have any formal military experience.
Records indicate that Mr Cutmore attended the Glasgow and Strathclyde University Officers’ Training Corps but left after just one year.
Ukrainian authorities claim he passed sensitive information to Moscow in exchange for money, including the positions of Ukrainian forces, training sites, and the identities of service members.
A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed it is “providing consular assistance to a British man detained in Ukraine.”
Ukrainian authorities claim he passed sensitive information to Moscow in exchange for money
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SBU
A statement issued by the Kyiv prosecutor’s after his arrest in October said: “In May 2025, he passed on the co-ordinates of the locations of Ukrainian units, photographs of the training facility and information about military personnel that could be used to identify them.
“In addition, analysis of his correspondence confirmed that he had carried out other tasks for the benefit of the Russian special services.”
According to investigators, the Briton was approached by FSB officers after he had posted “adverts” in pro-Russian social media channels “offering his services”.
Ukrainian intelligence agency SBU said he was provided instructions for constructing an improvised explosive and the co-ordinates of a weapons cache containing a handgun and two loaded magazines.
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The SBU said that Mr Cutmore faces up to 12 years in a Ukrainian prison if he is convicted
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KYIV PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE
A statement issued by the intelligence agency read: “The SBU counterintelligence service exposed the enemy collaborator in advance, documented his crimes and detained him at his temporary residence in the Ukrainian capital.
“The investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime and its additional classification. The perpetrator is in custody.”
The SBU added that Mr Cutmore faces up to 12 years in a Ukrainian prison if he is convicted.
The father of the arrested Briton, Ross John Cutmore, told The Telegraph he was “lost for words” at the charges his son is facing in Ukraine.
He told the newspaper: “It came as a shock to me. I’m just a normal person. I go to work. Just living my life – normal family.”
Mr Cutmore is accused of assisting in the killing of 31-year-old Ukrainian blogger Demian Hanul, who was shot dead in Odesa in March 2024.
He is also alleged to have helped orchestrate the assassination of 46-year-old Ukrainian soldier Serhii Shalaiev, a deserter from the frontline.
Additionally, the 40-year-old is said to have been involved in the murder of Ukrainian nationalist politician Iryna Farion, who was killed outside her home in July last year.
