Ukraine's Intelligence Agencies Have Become the World's Most Respected...Feared

Like many countries, Ukraine has two intelligence agencies: one focused on domestic matters (the SBU) and one concentrating on security issues outside its borders (HUR). From the recent drone attack on Russia's bomber fleet to assassinations inside Russia to assaults on Russian assets in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, they have protected the country while effectively projecting power.

Their success has resulted in a reputation for innovation, creativity - and ruthlessness - that have made them respected and feared, while earning respect once reserved for Israel's Mossad, the UK's Mi6, France's Deuxieme Bureaux and Russia's KGB (now FSB). JL 

David Kirichenko reports in the National Interest:

The world now recognizes Ukraine’s military as one of the most battle-hardened and innovative forces of the 21st century. The country’s intelligence services, particularly the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) and internal intelligence agency (SBU) are (brilliantly) waging a war in the shadows against Russia around the world. From assassinations deep inside Russia to sabotage campaigns across Africa and the Middle East, they have emerged as one of the world’s most active and feared covert services. “They’ve been effective in terms of tactical outcomes, many of the missions have succeeded, including high-profile assassinations beyond Ukraine’s borders.”

Ukraine’s intelligence services, especially HUR and the SBU, have become globally formidable, conducting daring sabotage, assassinations, and cyber operations that reshape modern warfare and expose vulnerabilities deep inside Russia.

When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022, most Western leaders and intelligence agencies expected Kyiv to collapse within days. 

Four years later, Ukrainian operatives are waging war across all of Russia in Kyiv’s special military operation. 

How Does Ukraine Stand Up to Russia?

Much of the world now recognizes Ukraine’s military as one of the most battle-hardened and innovative forces of the 21st century. Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken quipped in 2023 that Russia possessed “the second-strongest army in Ukraine,”  a nod to how Ukraine’s defenders have repeatedly outmaneuvered what was once considered a top-tier military power. 

Yet while Ukraine’s conventional forces have earned headlines, it is the country’s intelligence services, particularly the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), that are quietly waging a war in the shadows against Russia around the world. 

Among Ukraine’s most daring missions worldwide, many bear the fingerprints of HUR. From assassinations deep inside Russia to sabotage campaigns across Africa and Syria, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has emerged as one of the world’s most active and feared covert services. 

But now, Ukraine’s domestic security service (SBU) has made it clear that every military war planner will be studying their tactics as well. On June 1st, Ukraine’s SBU, after 18 months of planning, neutralized 34 percent of Russia’s nuclear-capable long-range bombers. Quoting US officials and military analysts, the New York Times wrote, “Ukraine is continuing to change the way wars will be conducted in the 21st century.” 

Kyiv carried out a complex 18-month operation dubbed “Spider Web,” using 117 smuggled drones hidden in lorries to target five Russian air bases, reaching as far as 4000 kilometers from Ukraine. The Governor of Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast, Igor Kobzev, pondered giving an award to Russian civilians who attempted to throw stones to stop the drones. 

The attack damaged or destroyed at least 13 long-range strategic bombers, with Ukraine estimating the operation inflicted $7 billion in losses on Russia. Ukraine did America a favor by striking Russia’s Tu-95 bombers, which have been threatening America for decades, especially in places such as Alaska. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated, “Of course, not everything can be revealed at this moment, but these are Ukrainian actions that will undoubtedly be in history books.” The next day, the SBU bombed the Kerch bridge in occupied Crimea for a third time since 2022. 

The competition between HUR and the SBU for the most daring operations is only likely to intensify. Moscow has great reason to be worried about what’s next.

Ukrainian Intelligence Works with Other Governments

HUR’s reach extends far beyond Ukraine’s borders, reflecting a strategic doctrine shaped by years of war with Russia and foreign partnerships such as with the CIA and MI6. HUR’s chief, General Kyrylo Budanov, implied Ukraine already operates with Mossad-like capabilities, stating, “If you’re asking about Mossad as being famous (for)… eliminating enemies of their state, then we were doing it and we will be doing it. We don’t need to create anything because it already exists.”

Intelligence agencies like Israel’s Mossad have long been considered the gold standard in espionage and sabotage. That reputation faltered following its failure to prevent the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. 

However, Israel quickly reasserted its operational prowess with a headline-grabbing retaliation known as the “pager attack,” carried out in September 2024. Explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies, covertly distributed to Hezbollah fighters, were remotely detonated, killing dozens and injuring thousands.

Ukraine, it seems, was watching. 

In February 2025, Ukrainian intelligence reportedly carried out a similar operation, purchasing a batch of First-Person View (FPV) drone goggles, rigging them with explosives, and funneling them, via fake donors posing as Russian volunteers, to enemy units. The devices exploded in the hands of Russian drone operators. “Over time, there will be more,” said one Ukrainian intelligence official. 

Meanwhile, Russian intelligence was suspected of orchestrating a parcel bomb plot across Europe in July 2024, using disguised incendiary devices hidden inside packages containing sex toys and fake cosmetics, according to a Reuters investigation published in April 2025. 

The Efficiency of Ukraine’s SBU Evolves

“Ukraine’s ability to conduct a similar operation, akin to the famed pager attack in Lebanon, hinges on a robust and expanding intelligence service capable of extensive covert operations,” said Treston Wheat, chief geopolitical officer at the consultancy Insight Forward and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. 

“By further developing covert capabilities, Ukraine could deploy operatives to exploit vulnerabilities in an adversary’s infrastructure, thereby striking critical targets with precision.”

Wheat added that such attacks are likely to become more frequent: “With meticulous planning and a strong intelligence apparatus that can identify weaknesses in supply chains for technology production, these operations, while complex and resource-intensive, can be successfully executed, demonstrating the quintessential importance of covert tactics in modern warfare.”

Ukraine remains secretive about its role in targeted assassinations, but the growing precision and success of these operations likely reflect the increasing capability of its intelligence services. Mark Galeotti, a leading Russia analyst, noted that the Kremlin is “well aware of HUR’s capabilities,” adding that Russian security agencies “treat it with considerable professional respect, even if equal dislike.”

Andriy Cherniak of Ukraine’s military intelligence previously warned that anyone attacking Ukraine “is being watched.” 

Together with the SBU, Ukraine has targeted Russian war criminals and those who have betrayed the country. In recent months, Ukraine eliminated several Russian generals in Moscow, with the Russian intelligence services helpless against stopping Kyiv’s growing reach. 

“They’ve been effective in terms of tactical outcomes, many of the missions have succeeded, including high-profile assassinations beyond Ukraine’s borders,” said Oleksandra Ustinova, a Ukrainian member of parliament from the Holos party. She noted that assassinations of alleged Russian war criminals have provided a significant psychological boost for many Ukrainians.  

“They’ve also shown the West that Ukraine’s capabilities go far beyond what we’ve traditionally been credited with,” said Ustinova. “Even if they deliver smaller-scale successes, they still play a vital role in the broader campaign.” 

According to Ustinova, the goal is to expose cracks and vulnerabilities within Russia’s security and political structures, including its military apparatus and leadership. “Ultimately, all wars end with political decisions,” she said. 

“Military success shapes the political landscape, making it increasingly untenable for the aggressor to continue its campaign. That’s the broader strategic objective behind these operations.”  

Kyiv believes that despite the West’s cautious approach, the idea that Russia will automatically escalate if Ukraine strikes inside Russian territory or even hits Moscow has been repeatedly disproved. “These assassinations help demonstrate that.” The West seems to deeply fear what Kyiv could do or attempt if let loose without restrictions against the Russians.

How Did Ukraine Build Up Its Intelligence?

Ukraine’s evolution in intelligence work did not happen overnight. Both the SBU and HUR required support in this rebuilding effort. HUR was mainly focused on intelligence efforts abroad. However, the CIA remained cautious about working closely with the SBU, mainly due to its Soviet legacy, history of corruption, and entanglement in overseeing economic crimes. While the CIA invested in the SBU, building a new spy division called the Fifth Directorate, HUR was the big beneficiary of Western intelligence support. 

One of the Fifth Directorate’s earliest lethal operations came in December 2015, when it orchestrated the assassination of Pavel Dremov, a Cossack battalion commander in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. 

Acting on a tip about Dremov’s interest in Range Rovers, SBU operatives smuggled a vehicle into Russian-held territory and rigged it with explosives. A local informant handed Dremov the keys, and the next day, the SBU remotely detonated the bomb, killing him instantly.

From 2015 to 2016, under then-HUR chief Valeriy Kondratyuk, Kyiv began quietly preparing for covert combat, anticipating future Russian aggression. The CIA eventually directed millions of dollars in funding to help train and equip Ukrainian intelligence officers. This partnership was part of a broader effort to transform Ukraine’s post-Soviet intelligence infrastructure into a modern, proactive force capable of operating deep behind enemy lines. 

Kondratyuk took significant personal risks to build the relationship, likely disclosing information he had no approval to disclose. 

As a result, the Americans began to receive intelligence that they hadn’t seen in decades. It also unleashed a force the Americans could no longer control, one that would increasingly test the imaginary red lines Moscow had drawn for the West in the coming years.