A Ukrainian national suspected of masterminding a major sabotage operation on the railway network in Kherson Region has been apprehended, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced.
In a statement issued on Monday, the agency claimed the suspect, a former senior official with Ukraine’s Odessa Railways, ordered his subordinates to destroy railroad switches in the vicinity of Kherson’s main station shortly after the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev broke out in February 2022.
The attack caused heavy damage to the network and “made it unsuitable for use, causing temporary disruption in the supply of Russian troops involved in the special military operation,” the authorities said in a statement. The FSB did not reveal the identity of the suspect, saying only that he was born in 1961.
The agency released footage of the raid on the suspect’s residence, with heavily armed officers storming the location and detaining him. At the time of his arrest, the suspect was sporting a T-shirt with an emblem of the Party of Regions, a long-defunct Ukrainian political group widely considered to be “pro-Russian,” the video shows.
During questioning, the suspect admitted he had ordered his subordinates to stage the sabotage attack. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison, the FSB noted.
The agency is continuing its investigation and is working to establish “all the circumstances and persons involved in this illegal activity,” it added.