The pair allegedly carried out multiple attacks on energy and transport facilities across Russia’s Samara region from 2023-2025
Two Russian citizens have been arrested and accused of conducting a series of sabotage attacks on oil, gas, and transport infrastructure in Russia’s Samara Region between 2023 and 2025, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Tuesday.
The two men, father and son, were arrested while allegedly preparing to blow up a railway bridge over the Samara River. Authorities said they seized 13.5 kg of explosives, components for improvised devices, and three drones from a forest hideout and a rented apartment.
The younger man reportedly traveled abroad in June 2022, where he established contact via Telegram with a representative of a Ukrainian organization. According to the FSB, he offered his services free of charge for sabotage operations in Russia and, upon returning home, recruited his father.
During interrogation, the suspects admitted to carrying out multiple attacks in the Samara Region, including the July 2023 bombing of a gas pipeline in the Syzran District, the March and September 2024 demolition of railway bridges over the Chapayevka and Samara rivers, and the destruction of a transformer substation at the Kuibyshev Oil Refinery in July 2023.
The suspects have been charged with illegal circulation and manufacture of explosives. Investigators are also considering charges of sabotage, participation in a terrorist organization, and treason. The FSB added that the men face life in prison.
Video released by the agency showed police officers describing how the younger suspect attempted to stab himself during his arrest. In his confession, he said he chose targets linked to logistics and the oil and gas sector, while his father acknowledged helping him despite knowing that civilians could be harmed.
Earlier this month, a deadly explosion in Orel Region killed two people during the inspection of mined railway tracks. In May, two railway bridges in Bryansk and Kursk Regions were also blown up during Ukrainian attacks, leaving seven people dead and more than 100 injured.
