Russian authorities released footage showing the arrest of a suspected Ukrainian spy who they say was caught “red-handed” stealing state secrets.

In a statement, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that the Ukrainian citizen had been caught stealing state secrets in the western city of Tula 170 kilometres (105 miles) south of Moscow yesterday (23rd August).

The FSB claims that the spy, who has not been named, was collecting top-secret information on Russia’s latest weapons technology along with other secret technical documents while trying to ‘flip’ employees within Russia’s defence enterprises.

They added that the spy’s suspected primary objective was to obtain protected information about promising developments in the field of small arms from a weapons factory in the city of Tula.

Reuters reports that Tula is home to a weapons factory that manufactures guided missiles for the Russian military as well as advanced firearms such as sniper rifles and automatic rifles.

In the footage, FSB agents can be seen charging into what appears to be a workshop and quickly pushing the suspect to the ground and cuffing his hands behind his back.

A criminal case has been initiated against the detainee for espionage.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry is yet to comment on the incident.

Relations between Kyiv and the Kremlin have been extremely tense since the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russian back separatist forces.