Ukraine neutralised an agent group of the Russian FSB that was preparing arson attacks on shopping centres and other crowded places in the European Union.
The suspects were detained in different Regions. The main targets of the sabotage were shopping centres, petrol stations, markets and pharmacies in Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries, the SBU said.
"In the course of complex measures in Ivano-Frankivsk Region, the SBU detained the organiser of the hostile cell and his accomplice. The criminals acted as part of a criminal group whose activities were remotely coordinated by Russian special service personnel," the Security Service said.
The Prosecutor General's Office clarified that one of the suspects, a resident of Ivano-Frankivsk, contacted an unidentified Russian. In return for money, he agreed to find people who would commit the crimes. This interlocutor sent a list of objects to be set on fire by the Ukrainians.
In total, the group consisted of 19 people who were dispersed in Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava Regions and Zaporizhzhya.
They recruited candidates for arson attacks on civilian objects for money. They used personal connections in criminal circles to find potential perpetrators.
"In order to 'send' the recruited arsonists abroad, the defendants prepared forged documents for them. In particular, passports, driver's licences, diplomas of education and medical cards issued to third parties," the statement added.
After committing the arson attacks, the perpetrators were supposed to film the fire on their own phones and send it to the FSB. The aggressor planned to use the video to prepare special information operations aimed at undermining the socio-political situation in the European Union.
During 37 searches of the offenders' residences, cars and garages, the following items were seized
- mobile phones, flash drives, draft records and forged documents used in subversive activities
- AK rifle, pistols
- bank cards and large sums of cash spent on recruiting potential arsonists.
Currently, the organiser of the FSB agent group and his accomplice have been served a notice of suspicion (in accordance with the crimes committed):
- p. 2, Art. 111 (high treason committed under martial law);
- p. 3 of Art. 358 (forgery of documents, seals, stamps and forms, sale or use of forged documents, seals, stamps).
To expose the group, law enforcement officers conducted about 40 searches in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhya and Poltava Regions.