Scottish Military Instructor Ross David Cutmore Jailed Eight-and-a-Half Years for Russian Espionage in Ukraine
Ross David Cutmore, from Dunfermline, Fife, has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in Ukraine for acting as a Russian spy. Cutmore, who had initially arrived in Ukraine in early 2024 to work as a military instructor, admitted to disclosing "unauthorised information" concerning the deployment of Ukrainian forces and the activities of foreign military instructors.
Ukrainian authorities stated that Cutmore, who entered a plea deal and co-operated with the investigation, also faced accusations of discussing terrorist attacks and illegal possession of a pistol supplied by Russian operatives. His admission of guilt occurred at the Kyiv District Court in Odesa on 30 April.
Details of Espionage Activities
An investigation by the Ukrainian security service revealed that Cutmore had passed on precise location coordinates of Ukrainian units, photographs of training areas, and sensitive information about military personnel. He also gathered intelligence on facilities in Odesa, explored the potential use of explosive devices, and attempted to gain access to the command structures of military units. For one of these tasks, he reportedly received $6,000.
According to Ukrainian security services, Cutmore abandoned his instructional work in September 2024, seeking "easy money" within pro-Kremlin online communities. He was subsequently recruited by an officer from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), who offered cash in exchange for intelligence. The FSB allegedly instructed Cutmore to prepare a series of terrorist attacks, providing guidance on constructing an improvised explosive device and the coordinates for a weapons cache, from which he retrieved a Makarov pistol.
Counterintelligence officers from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) apprehended Cutmore last October during the planning stages of these alleged attacks.
