Belarus signals it wants to retrieve journalist, suspected of espionage

Belarus has asked for Inna Kardash, who worked as a journalist for Ukrainian media outlets and was served with a notice of suspicion of espionage by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), to be included in an exchange.

Source: Bohdan Okhrimenko, Head of the Secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, in an interview with Ukrinform

Quote: "There was such a signal, but so far there has been nothing beyond conversations. We are open to proposals. We are not interested in keeping foreign criminals here and spending budget funds on them while our illegally convicted citizens are kept behind bars in inhumane conditions. If communication leads to practical proposals, we will consider them."

Details: Asked how Kardash came to work at the Coordination Headquarters, Okhrimenko explained: "The SSU and Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) received information about her activities and launched an operational game. She thought she was working at the Coordination Headquarters. A fake workplace was set up for her. She had no access to the premises of the Coordination Headquarters and was kept in a different location."

Quote: "The premises were prepared to record everything that happened there and the materials given to her did not contain any genuine information. Once the SSU employees involved in handling her had documented everything, her detention was organised and she is now under investigation."

Background:

• Inna Kardash was detained on 20 January 2026. DIU reported that the woman had worked for Belarus's KGB since 2015 and was sent to Ukraine for agent work in 2020. Her work as a journalist served as a cover for her operations. Investigators say the agent had worked for Belarus's KGB since 2015. After working for the sanctioned channel 112, linked to former MP Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian businessman and pro-Russian politician to whose daughter Russian leader Vladimir Putin is godfather, she took a job at Interfax-Ukraine, one of Ukraine's.
• She later signed a contract with DIU and secured a position at Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters, where she photographed documents and sent them to her handler in the KGB.
• DIU reported that the spy was tasked with collecting information about Belarusians and Russians who are fighting against Russia on Ukraine's side, as well as establishing links with Chinese diplomats. Investigation also established she had tried to recruit her own husband.
• Kardash is currently in custody.

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