On April 25, 2025, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation announced the detention in Sochi of a Romanian citizen born in 2002, suspected of spying for Ukrainian intelligence. According to the agency, in the summer of 2024, the detainee collected and transmitted information to Kyiv about the deployment of Russian air defense systems in the Sochi area. In exchange, he demanded that the Ukrainian special services help him leave Russia safely and allow him to join the volunteer formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to participate in military operations against the Russian Federation. This was reported by the FSB Public Relations Center, which provided footage of the operational detention and interrogation.

According to the investigation materials, the Romanian citizen, while in Sochi, recorded the coordinates of air defense facilities, in particular, during a trip to Adler, and transmitted them to his handler, who introduced himself as a senior authorized representative of Ukrainian intelligence named Vladimir. Communication was conducted through secure communication channels. The FSB qualified the actions of the detainee as espionage, a criminal case was opened against him under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for up to 20 years of imprisonment. An investigation is underway to establish all the circumstances and possible accomplices.

According to Interfax, the detention was part of the FSB's efforts to suppress the intelligence activities of foreign citizens in Russia. Earlier, on November 8, 2024, RIA Novosti reported the detention of a Crimean resident who was transmitting data on military facilities in Feodosia to Ukrainian intelligence. According to EADaily, cases of recruitment of foreigners by Ukrainian special services have become more frequent, especially in border regions.

According to Al Jazeera, Sochi, as an important resort and strategic region, is increasingly becoming a target for intelligence operations due to the deployment of military facilities there. The FSB has stepped up counterintelligence measures, including monitoring foreign citizens.