Ukrainian media reported that the Ukrainian authorities arrested a British military trainer accused of spying for Russia and planning assassinations.
Ross David Cutmore, 40, from Dunfermline, Scotland, was allegedly recruited by the Russian intelligence service, the FSB, to “carry out targeted assassinations on the territory of Ukraine” between 2024 and 2025.
“In May 2025, he sent coordinates of the location of Ukrainian units, photographs of training facilities and information about military personnel that could be used to identify them. In addition, analysis of his correspondence confirmed that he carried out other missions for the Russian special services,” the Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office stated.
Catmore was previously stationed in the Middle East with the British Army, arriving in Ukraine early last year to assist its army, and later guarding the border.
according to The timesThe detainee is the main suspect in the investigation, which confirms that he was recruited by Russian intelligence agents in Odessa, southern Ukraine, and was paid $6,000 if he provided secret information about the location of Ukrainian military units around the city. If convicted, Catmore faces up to 12 years in prison.
According to this thesis, FSB agents contacted Katmur after he apparently posted “ads offering his services” in various pro-Russian social media groups. According to the Ukrainian domestic intelligence agency, Katmur received instructions to create an explosive device and the coordinates of the warehouse from which he took a weapon.
Katmur is suspected of providing weapons for the murder of Ukrainian activists Demyan Hanul and Irina Varon, as well as MP Andriy Parubiy, who were all killed by professional killers, according to Ukrainian media.
Thousands of people have been conscripted into Ukraine’s armed forces since Russia’s full invasion in 2022, after President Volodymyr Zelensky urged foreign war veterans to join the cause and help the country.
A Foreign Office spokesperson commented on the situation, saying: “We are providing consular assistance to a British national detained in Ukraine. We remain in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities.”
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