SBU exposes Russian agent from Crimea planning terrorist attacks on Kyiv metro and malls
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has exposed an alleged Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agent from Crimea who was planning a series of terrorist attacks in Kyiv, the agency said on Nov. 12.
According to the investigation, the plan involved explosions in Kyiv's large shopping and entertainment centers, and in one of the capital's metro stations.
The suspect, a Crimean resident, began working for the FSB after the occupation of the peninsula in 2014. He searched for "like-minded people" to be recruited by the FSB, including Ukrainian citizens from the occupied territory who were not subject to mobilization in Ukraine due to their age.
One of the recruits crossed the Ukrainian border through a third country and allegedly received instructions to retrieve a Makarov pistol from a concealed location and to prepare homemade explosive devices that would be placed in backpacks and set to detonate remotely in public areas during rush hour.
Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office reported on Nov. 12 that a 55-year-old resident of Crimea, the alleged organizer of terrorist attacks, has been charged in absentia.
He also attempted to assassinate a Ukrainian journalist from Kherson and a media relations worker with one of Ukraine's Armed Forces brigades, and was looking for Ukrainian military personnel who would agree to hand over technical documentation and components of the American HIMARS multiple launch rocket system in exchange for money. The FSB offered between $200,000 and $1,000,000.
The suspect has been charged under Part 2 of Article 111 (treason under martial law), Part 2 of Article 258 (terrorist act), and Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal handling of weapons/explosives).
The ongoing investigation is being carried out by SBU investigators in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, under the supervision of the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office.
