SBU detains Russian agent plotting terrorist attack near administrative building in Dnipro
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a Russian agent who was preparing a terrorist attack near the administrative building of a law enforcement agency in central Dnipro.
According to the SBU, as cited by Ukrinform, the operation was carried out by SBU counterintelligence.
The suspect is a 29-year-old woman from Vinnytsia, described as a drug addict who was recruited by Russian special services while seeking “easy money” on Telegram.
Her mission began in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region, where she retrieved an improvised explosive device from a cache, following instructions from her Russian handler.
She was then ordered to travel to Dnipro, settle in a pre-rented apartment, and conduct reconnaissance near the targeted law enforcement building.
After identifying a suitable location near the planned target, the agent hid the explosive device in a new cache and transmitted the coordinates to her supervisor. The plan was for another operative to retrieve the device, plant it near the building, and detonate it.
Thanks to proactive measures, the SBU seized the explosive device and neutralized the threat.
The suspect was apprehended while attempting to flee the city. She was detained at a checkpoint as she tried to board a shuttle bus bound for Odesa, where she intended to “lay low.”
Investigators have formally charged her under Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which pertains to the preparation of a terrorist act committed by a group of individuals acting in prior conspiracy.
The woman is currently in custody. She faces up to 12 years in prison along with the confiscation of property.
As Ukrinform previously reported, a mobilized serviceman from the combat brigade of the State Special Transport Service, part of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, has been exposed for collaborating with Russian military intelligence. According to the investigation, the man was recruited shortly after mobilization and tasked with gathering intelligence on the positions of Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk region
Photo credit: SBU