Инна Кардаш. Фото из Facebook
Belarusian citizen Inna Kardash, detained in Ukraine on suspicion of espionage, worked at the Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and the case against her was opened in July 2025. Radio Svaboda has learned new details.
According to the case materials, Kardash cooperated with the KGB starting in 2019. She maintained contact with the KGB through a Belarusian citizen who, “consciously carried out confidential cooperation with the Belarusian special services on her behalf.” The Belarusian with whom Kardash last communicated no later than September 6, 2025, proposed that she travel to Budapest to receive instructions.
Kardash arrived in Budapest on September 16, where she purchased a new mobile phone on which, according to investigators, she installed “an application for encrypted confidential conversations.” She called the Belarusian contact, who then connected a KGB officer to the conversation. During this call, Kardash received an assignment to obtain employment at the Coordination Center under the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.
She was hired at the Center in November 2025. According to the case materials, from at least November 21 to December 19 she “systematically collected official information” — photographing documents and recording conversations of employees. She transmitted this data to Belarus. As previously reported by the SBU, controlled information was circulating around Kardash.
It is also known that the criminal case against Kardash was initiated on July 16, 2025. Prior to that date, covert surveillance had been conducted. She was formally notified of suspicion of espionage in favor of the KGB on the day of her detention — January 21, 2026. By court decision, Kardash has been placed in custody until March 20.
According to the case materials, Kardash was in a registered marriage. At the time of her arrest, she was listed as a servicemember with the rank of private.
As previously reported, the SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate announced Kardash’s detention on January 27. The SBU stated that she had been cooperating with the KGB since 2015. For some time, she worked as a staff correspondent for Medvedchuk’s television channel 112 in CIS countries. In 2020, Belarusian special services sent Kardash to work in Ukraine. Her assignment included collecting information on Belarusians and Russians who assist Ukraine. She was also tasked with establishing contacts with staff of the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine in order to collect intelligence data on the activities of Chinese diplomats in Ukraine.