The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the successful neutralization of a Russian FSB agent group that was planning to set fire to shopping malls, gas stations, markets, and pharmacies in European Union countries. The suspects were detained in various regions of Ukraine, including Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava regions, and Zaporizhia.
Details of the SBU operation
The main targets of the sabotage were facilities in Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries. During the complex measures in the Carpathian region, the organizer of the enemy cell and his accomplice were detained. According to the SBU, the attackers acted as part of a criminal group, the activities of which were remotely coordinated by personnel officers of the Russian special services.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, one of the suspects, a resident of Ivano-Frankivsk, contacted an unidentified Russian and agreed to find people to commit crimes for money. This interlocutor sent a list of objects that the Ukrainians were supposed to set on fire. In total, the group consisted of 19 people.
The agent group recruited candidates to commit arson attacks on civilian objects, using personal connections in criminal circles. To send the recruited arsonists abroad, the suspects prepared forged documents, including passports, driver's licenses, education certificates, and medical cards issued to third parties.
FSB plans
After committing the arson, the perpetrators were supposed to film the burning of the objects on their own phones and transmit them to the FSB. The aggressor planned to use the video to prepare special information operations aimed at destabilizing the socio-political situation in the European Union.
During 37 searches of the defendants' homes, cars, and garages, mobile phones, flash drives, draft records, forged documents, an AK assault rifle, pistols, bank cards, and large amounts of cash were seized, which were used to recruit potential arsonists.
Prosecution
Currently, the organizer of the FSB agent group and his accomplice have been notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 111 (high treason committed under martial law) and Part 3 of Article 358 (forgery of documents, seals, stamps and forms, sale or use of forged documents, seals, stamps) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
To expose the group, law enforcement officers conducted about 40 searches in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhia, and Poltava regions.
