On 7 November, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced the arrest of a local resident in the city of Dnipro who was allegedly acting as an agent for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), preparing sabotage attacks.
According to the investigation, the 48-year-old suspect worked as a locksmith at a local enterprise. He reportedly had practical expertise in chemistry and had been tasked by his FSB handler with carrying out a series of arson attacks on Ukrainian military vehicles and railway infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The SBU stated that the suspect’s initial assignment from the FSB was to gather coordinates of Ukrainian military units in the region and monitor the aftermath of Russian air attacks on Dnipro. However, the SBU says, the suspect’s FSB handler later gave him a new task – to carry out a series of arson attacks on the Ukrainian military’s cars and Ukrainian Railway (Ukrzaliznytsia) facilities.
According to the agency, the suspect had personally assembled an incendiary device using flammable mixtures, a detonator, and a remote control module. The SBU said the suspect was planning to plant this device under a Ukrainian military vehicle and set it off remotely at a predetermined time.
The authorities noted that prior to carrying out the planned terrorist attack, the suspect had “tested” the device near railway tracks and informed his FSB handler in Russia about it.
During searches, law enforcement seized the suspect’s mobile phone, which “contained evidence” of his work for the Russians. The man has been informed of suspicion of high treason committed under martial law. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with confiscation of property, according to SBU.
Related:
