A Scottish military instructor who betrayed the Ukrainian forces he claimed to be helping by sending their secrets to Russia has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.
Details of the Case
Ross David Cutmore, from Dunfermline, admitted disclosing information on the location of Ukrainian ground units to Russia and illegally storing weapons. He also admitted to working for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and has been sentenced to eight years and six months in prison.
After advertising himself on pro-Kremlin websites, Cutmore was recruited by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spymasters and handed a series of missions. He was paid $6,000 (£4,500) for one of the tasks given to him by the FSB.
Arrival in Ukraine and Recruitment
Images from inside the Kyiv District Court of Odesa showed Cutmore locked in a glass box while surrounded by men in military uniforms. He arrived in the war-torn country in January 2024 and worked as a military instructor for servicemen defending their homeland against Russia. However, prosecutors said that at the end of September 2025, he moved to Odesa and began looking for ‘easy money’ in pro-Kremlin internet groups.
Cutmore was then recruited by the FSB. Prosecutors stated that in May 2025 he transmitted the coordinates of Ukrainian units, photographs of the training area, and information about servicemen which could have identified them. As well as collecting data on facilities in Odesa, he is said to have discussed using explosive devices and tried to gain access to the command of military units.
Arrest and Sentencing
His crimes were exposed, and he was arrested last October, according to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office. He was jailed on April 30. A spokesman for the Prosecutor General said: ‘A foreigner who, during the war, transmitted data about the location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the Russian side and illegally stored weapons has been sentenced to eight years and six months of imprisonment. The accused transmitted information that allowed for the identification of the positions of Ukrainian military personnel on the ground. It was established he acted out of selfish motives and with the intent to transmit this data to the aggressor country. In addition, he was found to possess illegally acquired and stored firearms and ammunition – a Makarov pistol and combat cartridges.’
Ukrainian officials only revealed his name in December. Cutmore appears to have little combat experience, with UK military records showing that he only briefly served in the Glasgow and Strathclyde University Officer Training Corps about a decade ago.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: ‘We are providing consular assistance to a British man who is detained in Ukraine. We remain in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities.’
