Russian agent caught 'red-handed' attempting to blow up officer's car

SBU said this in a statement seen by Ukrinform.

"SBU officers caught the suspect 'red-handed' as she planted an improvised explosive device under a law enforcement officer's car in one of the city's residential areas," the statement says.

At the moment of the arrest, Russian operatives attempted to detonate explosives remotely to blow up the car along with their accomplice. However, SBU counterintelligence forces neutralized the device in time and prevented its detonation.

According to the case materials, the perpetrator turned out to be a 38-year-old drug addict from Kharkiv, who came to the attention of the occupiers while looking for money to buy "a dose" in Telegram channels.

After her recruitment, a Russian handler sent her to Dnipro, where she first collected the explosives from a stash, hidden in a backpack. She then went to the site to plant the IED following the coordinates provided by the Russians.

SBU officers served the detainee with a suspicion notice under Part 2 of Article 15 and Part 2 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (completed attempt of a terrorist attack).

The perpetrator is in custody. She faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

As Ukrinform previously reported, 16 individuals who worked for Russian intelligence services in eastern Ukraine were sentenced to long prison terms.