Belarus Seeks Swap for Jailed Female Journalist Accused of Espionage, Ukraine Says

Ukraine detained Inna Kardash, accused of spying for Belarus’ KGB, after she posed as a journalist and tried to infiltrate Ukraine’s military intelligence. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied A Belarusian woman suspected of spying for Belarus’ KGB is seen during investigative actions in Kyiv. (Photo: HUR) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Belarus has asked Ukraine to include a suspected agent, Inna Kardash, in a potential prisoner exchange, Ukrainian officials said, adding that Kyiv remains open to negotiations but has yet to receive concrete proposals. Kardash, who previously worked as a journalist for Ukrainian media, has been formally notified by the Security Service of Ukraine that she is suspected of espionage. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . Speaking to Ukrinform , Bohdan Okhrimenko, head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said Belarus had raised the issue but had not followed up with specific terms. “There has been such a signal, but beyond discussions, nothing concrete so far. We are open to proposals,” Okhrimenko said. “We have no interest in holding foreign criminals at our expense while our unlawfully convicted citizens remain imprisoned in inhumane conditions. If there are practical proposals, we will consider them.” Okhrimenko said Ukrainian intelligence uncovered Kardash’s alleged activities through a coordinated counterintelligence operation. According to him, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) launched what he described as an “operational game.” “She believed she was working at the Coordination Headquarters,” Okhrimenko said. “In reality, a fake workplace was set up for her. She had no access to the actual premises and was located elsewhere.” Other Topics of Interest HUR Says Covert Operation Crippled Kadyrov’s ‘Akhmat’ Unit in Sumy Region, Claims Heavy Losses Ukrainian military intelligence said the Chechen unit had suffered its heaviest losses since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, including 41 killed, 87 wounded, and 100-plus fighters missing. The site was equipped to record all activity, and materials provided to her contained no real or sensitive information. After gathering sufficient evidence, authorities detained her. She is currently under investigation. The 35-year-old woman was detained in Kyiv in January. SBU and HUR said she worked for the KGB of Belarus, the successor to the Soviet-era Committee for State Security, which remains the main domestic intelligence and counterintelligence agency under  President Alexander Lukashenko. According to  investigators , the woman operated under the cover of journalism, using media credentials to build contacts among Ukrainian politicians, military personnel and foreign diplomats. Authorities say she had been working for the Belarusian security service since 2015. On Jan. 22, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court ordered her held in pre-trial detention without the possibility of bail. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization since 1995. Its international market reach of 97% outside of Ukraine makes it truly Ukraine’s Global – and most reliable – Voice.