Security Service of Ukraine detains Russian agent plotting terror attack in Dnipro

The investigation found that the suspect had assembled an improvised explosive device (IED), concealed it in a backpack, and was supposed to deliver it to the planned attack site, Ukrinform reports, citing the SBU.

Russian handlers intended to detonate the device remotely by placing a call to a mobile phone attached to the explosives.

SBU officers apprehended the agent in Dnipro "red-handed" while she was in a rented apartment, having already prepared the explosive device and waiting for instructions from her handler on where to plant it.

According to case materials, the task was carried out by a drug-dependent woman from the Zhytomyr region, who had been recruited by Russian operatives via a Telegram channel offering "easy money."

She was later sent to Dnipro, where she rented accommodation and received instructions from Russia on how to assemble the IED using improvised materials.

For remote detonation, the suspect equipped the device with a mobile phone that allowed Russian operatives to trigger the explosion from a distance.

During searches at her temporary residence, law enforcement officers seized the explosive device as well as a smartphone containing evidence of her cooperation with Russian forces.

SBU investigators have served her with a notice of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (preparing for a terrorist attack).

She is currently in custody without the possibility of posting bail and faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Photo credit: Security Service of Ukraine