The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on March 26 that it had foiled an attempted act of sabotage by agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) at a railroad in Ukraine's Poltava Oblast.
The Prosecutor General's Office added that the two suspects were Ukrainian citizens.
Ukrainian security services and border guards intermittently intercept Russian saboteur groups attempting to infiltrate Ukrainian territory, although it is more common in areas such as Sumy Oblast that are close to the Russian border.
Poltava Oblast is located in central Ukraine, with its easternmost part some 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Russian border. The SBU did not specify exactly where the attempted sabotage occurred.
According to the SBU, two FSB agents were arrested "on the spot" after they had laid an improvised explosive device by a key railroad track that connects central and eastern Ukraine.
After the two individuals were searched, SBU agents found phones in which the suspects were communicating with their Russian handler, a known FSB agent.
The SBU said that the two individuals had been charged with committing sabotage and face life in prison if convicted.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
