Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)

Force in Play

Co-claimed the June 3 Kronstadt corvette strike

Ukraine struck Russia's largest oil refinery in Omsk on July 6, roughly 2,500 km from Ukrainian territory, setting a new distance record for the campaign. Russia responded two days later by banning all diesel exports until July 31 as nearly all 83 of its federal regions reported fuel shortages.

Updated 2 days ago

Force in Play

Officially denied involvement in Alekseyev shooting; accused by FSB of orchestrating attack

Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a campaign of assassinations has targeted its military elite in Moscow. On February 6, 2026, an attacker posing as a delivery person shot Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev three times in his Moscow apartment building. Alekseyev, first deputy head of Russian military intelligence (GRU) and accused mastermind of the 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack, underwent emergency surgery, regained consciousness on February 7, and stabilized under intensive care.

Updated May 27

Force in Play

Leading Ukraine's deep-strike operations

At dawn on June 1, 2025, Ukraine's Security Service pulled off the largest covert drone strike in history. One hundred seventeen drones, smuggled into Russia inside fake shipping containers and hidden in truck cabs, launched from five locations spanning five time zones. They hit five Russian air bases simultaneously, destroying or damaging 41 strategic bombers: irreplaceable Soviet-era Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s worth $7 billion.

Updated May 19

Force in Play

Conducting assassination operations against Russian military leadership

On December 28, President Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced 90% agreement on a revised 20-point peace framework at Mar-a-Lago. The next day Russia claimed Ukraine attacked Putin's residence with drones—a charge Kyiv denies, calling it fabricated to sabotage talks. The alleged attack exposes how fragile negotiations are: while diplomats inch toward compromise, the shadow war continues and Moscow weaponizes accusations to 'toughen' its bargaining position. The real question after nearly four years of invasion is whether either side will stop fighting long enough to sign a deal.

Updated May 16

Force in Play

Primary Ukrainian intelligence service

A car bomb killed Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov in southern Moscow on December 22, 2025—the latest in a series of targeted assassinations of Russian military officials. Sarvarov, who headed the training department within Russia's general staff, was blown up in the capital city itself, a brazen escalation of Ukraine's shadow war behind Russian lines. Two days later, another bombing in the same Moscow district killed two police officers and the attacker, raising questions about whether the incidents are connected.

Updated May 16

Force in Play

Conducting deep-strike operations 1,600km inside Russia; expanding chemical and energy infrastructure targeting

Since early December 2025, the war has featured intensified winter ground operations in Kharkiv and Donetsk alongside massive drone and missile campaigns targeting each side's war economies. Russia's February 16-17 barrage of 425 drones and 29 missiles coincided with Geneva talks that concluded February 18 with limited military progress but no political breakthroughs on territorial compromises or security guarantees. Zelenskyy deemed the outcomes 'not sufficient' and requested a follow-up meeting later in February.

Updated May 15