A young man was recruited by Kiev to set off an explosion at an administrative building, the agency has said
Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives have thwarted a Ukrainian terrorist attack in Krasnodar Region in southern Russia, the agency has said.
A man who was recruited by Kiev was detained for planning to set off an explosion at an administrative building of an energy company in the region, the FSB said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the agency, the suspect, in his early 20s, was approached by Ukrainian intelligence services via WhatsApp this February.
His initial tasks included taking photographs of military facilities and collecting information on the movement of Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels, it said.
The man was later told to collect an improvised explosive device weighing 2.5kg from a stash in order “to commit a terrorist act in a public space,” the statement read.
He was apprehended by FSB officers while on his way to pick up the bomb, it added.
A criminal case has been launched against the suspect for preparing an act of terrorism and illegal possession of explosives, the agency said.
The man has admitted his guilt and is cooperating with the investigators, the FSB noted.
It also published a short video of the suspect’s interrogation, in which he said he received money from the Ukrainian spies for fulfilling their tasks.
The administrative building that he planned to attack was located in Novorossiysk, he added.
Novorossiysk is a major port city on the Black Sea, through which a significant part of Russia’s oil trade is conducted. It also hosts a Black Sea Fleet base.
The FSB warned in its statement that “the Ukrainian special services are increasingly using the Telegram and WhatsApp messaging apps to involve citizens in sabotage and reconnaissance activities.”
