Russia’s security service (FSB) has apprehended three suspects on suspicion of working for Ukrainian intelligence agency the SBU. The group was allegedly plotting an attack on a motorcade transporting a senior official from the Crimean Peninsula, the agency said on Monday.
Footage released by the FSB shows the suspects, an apparent couple and another man, detained at unspecified locations. Arresting agents also seized various equipment from the group, including an improvised explosive device packed with steel balls, as well as a German-made DM22 anti-tank directional mine. Mines of the type have been supplied to Kiev by Berlin amid the ongoing conflict.
The detained suspects have already admitted their involvement in the alleged plot, giving testimony on their roles and on the involvement of the SBU. The attack was set to be conducted in the city of Simferopol, the agency noted, without revealing what senior official had been targeted.
Over the course of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the FSB has detained dozens of suspects, including Russian, Ukrainian or dual nationals, all suspected of spying on Kiev’s behalf or of plotting terror attacks on Russian soil.