SBU foils terror attack on military facility in Kyiv region
Counterintelligence operatives detained four members of a Russian human intelligence network, including a minor, who were planning to set off an explosive device at a military facility in Kyiv region.
That’s according to the SBU press office, Ukrinform reports.
As the investigation learned, the improvised explosive device was put in a tactical backpack, which was supposed to be delivered to the facility by a teenager sporting a Ukrainian military uniform.
The Russians tracked the suspect’s movement online, intending to detonate the explosive device as soon as the young man entered the targeted building.
At the same time, the minor was unaware of his handler’s plot to use him as a suicide bomber, being told that the explosive will go off once he leaves the building.
The SBU counterintelligence foiled Russia’s plans and took measures to prevent the attack.
As a result, the underage terrorist and three other Russian assets were apprehended.
The investigation learned that the media objective of the terrorist act was to provoke conflict among the Ukrainian military by creating an appearance of a soldier blowing up others as a sign of protest.
The four suspects acted separately from each other, having the same Russian handler.
One of the exposed assets is a 16-year-old student from Kirovograd region, who received from the Russians the coordinates of the cache where he took the explosives and military uniform.
Another member of the network is a 19-year-old young man who is believed to have brought the explosives and uniform from one cache to another, where the 16-year-old suspect retrieved them.
The “initial cache” was set up by the two residents of Vinnytsia region. Following video instructions of their Russian handlers, they produced an improvised explosive device and hid it in a designated location.
During the raids, law enforcers seized from one of the suspects 1.5 kg of explosive mixture for IED production.
The SBU pressed charges against the suspects, including of treason committed under martial law and illegal handling of explosives.
The detainees shall be held in remand without bail, facing life in prison if found guilty in court.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, the court sentenced a traitor to 15 years in prison for helping the Russians target missile strikes on oil depots in Chernivtsi region.
Photo: SBU