Journalist transferred GRU Satellite Data to Czech Intelligence: FSB

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Dec 2023 23:25

Ivan Safronov shared information about the satellite constellation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces with NATO intelligence.

Ivan Safronov, an adviser to the director of Russia's state space corporation is seen on a TV screen, as he appears in a video link provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service in a courtroom of the First Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (AP)

A former journalist and aide to the chief of Roscosmos Ivan Safronov was convicted for high treason after transferring data about a Russian satellite constellation of the Russian General Staff's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) to Czech citizen Martin Larysh.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) investigator Alexander Chaban has labeled Martin Larysh as a Czech intelligence officer.

"These were military satellites that performed certain tasks, very important tasks, primarily for the GRU," Chaban told Rossiya 24 broadcaster, noting that the data was ultimately used by NATO.

According to the FSB investigator, the information transferred by Safronov to Larysh reportedly included details about the resource capacity of Russian satellites, specifying times during flight and space tests when the objects "do not operate at full capacity."

"It was important for NATO, which used Czech intelligence, to understand the current state of these satellites," Chaban added.

Ivan Safronov's sentence of 22 years in a strict regime facility is considered one of the most severe in recent Russian history under the "treason" article of the Russian Criminal Code.

Safronov was convicted of two instances of this crime, and his sentence took effect on December 7, 2022. In early August, the Russian Supreme Court upheld the sentence, rejecting his cassation appeal.