1ST LEAD Ukraine detains two suspected spies linked to Russia By Peter Spinella, dpa

Kiev (dpa) - Ukrainian authorities have detained two suspected spies in as many days, both high-ranking officials accused of having supplied sensitive information to the Russian government.Ukraine‘s main security agency said Thursday that it had uncovered a mole within its ranks, a lieutenant colonel who had passed work-related information to "representatives of the aggressor country."Computers found during searches of that suspect‘s living quarters revealed "evidence of correspondence and the transfer of information to Russian special services," the Security Service of Ukraine said in a statement.Another suspected mole who had been working in the cabinet of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman was detained on Wednesday. Groysman condemned the official as having committed treason for a "hostile state," according to comments on his Facebook page.That suspect, who faces up to 15 years in prison, collected data on the activities of governmental institutions and passed it electronically on to Russian contacts, the Security Service of Ukraine alleged. Relations between Russia and Ukraine have fallen to an all-time low since early 2014, when Ukraine ousted its pro-Russian president amid mass protests calling for closer ties with the West.Russia condemned the ouster as a Western-orchestrated coup and retaliated by annexing Ukraine‘s southern Crimea region and supporting a pro-Russian separatist rebellion in Ukraine‘s two eastern-most regions, which border Russia.More than 10,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.