Scottish Man Sentenced to 8.5 Years in Ukraine After Admitting to Passing Military Information to Russia

A Scottish man who arrived in Ukraine to work as a military instructor was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison on 30 April at the Kyiv District Court in Odesa after admitting he spied for Russia. Ross David Cutmore, from Dunfermline in Fife, disclosed unauthorised information on the deployment of Ukrainian forces and foreign military instructors under a plea deal with prosecutors.

He had cooperated with the investigation, according to Ukrainian authorities, and was in custody in Ukraine since his arrest last year by the Security Service of Ukraine.

The probe by the Ukrainian security service found Cutmore passed on the location coordinates of Ukrainian units, photographs of training areas and information about military personnel. He also collected data on facilities in Odesa, discussed the possibility of using explosive devices and attempted to gain access to the command of military units.

For one of the tasks he received 6,000 US dollars, equivalent to £4,400, the Ukrainian prosecutors office said.

Cutmore initially travelled to Ukraine to work as an instructor in January 2024 but gave up this work in September 2024 and began looking for easy money in pro-Kremlin online communities, the Ukrainian security service said. He was recruited by an officer from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) who offered him cash in exchange for cooperation.

The Ukrainian authorities said Cutmore received instructions from the FSB to prepare a series of terrorist attacks and was given instructions for making an improvised explosive device.

Cutmore took a Makarov pistol with two loaded magazines from a weapons cache whose coordinates were supplied by his handlers. He was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) counterintelligence officers at the planning stage in October last year. Cutmore arrived in Ukraine in early 2024.

He admitted his guilt and had cooperated with the investigation, Ukrainian authorities stated. uk reported that Cutmore has been in custody in Ukraine since his arrest last year.