SBU prevents false-flag bombing planned by Russian intelligence in Kyiv region
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) counterintelligence officers and investigators have foiled another Russian attempt to carry out a bombing in Kyiv region, detaining an unemployed local woman who was to blow up a car near an apartment building in a suburb of the capital.
"The investigation found that Russian operatives remotely recruited the woman by posing as employees of the SBU and the National Police," the SBU said on Telegram Tuesday.
A Russian intelligence officer first called the woman, posing as a Ukrainian law enforcement officer and offering help with medications she had previously purchased through specialized websites, according to the SBU. She was then tasked with retrieving a package from a dead drop and awaiting further instructions; the package later turned out to contain a homemade explosive device, the SBU said.
After the woman retrieved the package with the homemade bomb, her Russian handler instructed her to test whether the device's components were functional, according to the SBU. He then directed her to a residential neighborhood in a suburb of the capital and instructed her to leave the disguised device under the wheel of a car parked near a local supermarket.
The investigation is continuing to identify everyone involved in cooperating with Russia.
The SBU urged citizens to remain vigilant, stressing that it operates within the law and never issues such tasks. "If you are approached with suspicious offers, notice suspicious objects or people, or have information about the activities of Russian intelligence services or the websites and social media pages they use for recruitment, report it to the SBU: the 'Burn the FSB agent' chatbot at t.me/spaly_fsb_bot, phone 1516, or email 1516@ssu.gov.ua," the security service said.