The counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police detained eight Russian agents who committed sabotage in the south. Two people whom the enemy used "blindly" for arson in western Ukraine were also detained, UNN reports with reference to the SSU.
Details
The perpetrators were men aged 19 to 73, remotely recruited by Russian special services, who were offered "easy money." Two more were recruited by the Russians, posing as SSU employees.
In particular, in Odesa, a local unemployed man was caught "red-handed" as he was preparing to blow up a railway line during a train's movement, on the enemy's orders. The SSU exposed the Russian agent in advance and detained him when he tried to plant a homemade explosive device under the tracks. It was established that the suspect took the explosives from a cache previously prepared by the Russians in the regional center.
Also, in the Odesa region, seven more individuals were detained who were burning relay cabinets on the local railway to complicate the transport logistics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The perpetrators used flammable mixtures, and after the arson, they recorded the fire on camera to report to their Russian handlers.
SSU employees also exposed two 19-year-old local residents in Lviv who, on the instructions of the Russians, set fire to a local post office and the entrance doors of Lviv residents' homes.
As counterintelligence officers established, Russian special services recruited young men by posing as SSU employees. And the assigned tasks were presented as "participation in a special operation." According to the "legend" that the Russians provided to the suspects, "perpetrators" who allegedly acted against Ukraine were hiding in these facilities.
Thus, the Russian occupiers wanted to take advantage of the patriotism and trust of Ukrainians in law enforcement to use them to commit sabotage.
All detainees have been notified of suspicion in accordance with the crimes committed under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
• Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 113 (sabotage committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons under martial law);
• Part 2 of Article 194 (intentional destruction or damage to property by arson).
The defendants face from 10 years in prison to life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Addition
In Zaporizhzhia, Russian special services planned to carry out a terrorist attack with the help of a recruited agent who deserted from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The perpetrator was preparing to detonate a homemade explosive device in a crowded place in the city center.