Scottish man jailed 8.5 years in Ukraine for spying for Russia

A Scottish man who worked as a military instructor in Ukraine but was recruited as a Russian spy has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in the country.

Cutmore, who arrived in Ukraine in early 2024, faced additional charges of discussing terrorist attacks and illegally possessing a pistol supplied by the Russians.

He admitted guilt at the Kyiv District Court in Odesa on April 30 under a plea deal and cooperated with investigators, Ukrainian authorities said.

Cutmore was arrested last year following a probe by the Ukrainian security service.

The investigation revealed he passed location coordinates of Ukrainian units, photographs of training areas and details on military personnel.

He also gathered data on facilities in Odesa, discussed using explosive devices and tried to access command structures of military units.

For one task, he received $6,000 (£4,400).

The Ukrainian security service said Cutmore came to Ukraine in January 2024 to work as an instructor. He quit in September that year and sought quick cash in pro-Kremlin online groups.

An officer from Russia's Federal Security Service then recruited him, offering money for cooperation.

Authorities said the FSB directed Cutmore to prepare terrorist attacks. They provided instructions for building an improvised explosive device plus coordinates to a weapons cache where he retrieved a Makarov pistol with two loaded magazines.