Russia recruited the attacker responsible for a deadly explosion at a military enlistment office in Rivne, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Feb. 5, revealing details of the investigation.
The bombing on Feb. 1 killed the suspected perpetrator and injured eight service members. Russian operatives recruited the man and then remotely detonated explosives, removing him as an "'unnecessary' witness," the SBU said.
According to the investigation, the attacker was a 21-year-old unemployed man from Zhytomyr Oblast who sought quick money on Telegram channels. Russian intelligence services allegedly recruited him online and offered him payment for carrying out an attack.
The revelation follows a series of attacks on military enlistment officers, including explosions at draft offices in Rivne and Pavlohrad that injured several service members. A separate attack on Jan. 31 saw a draft officer shot dead in Poltava Oblast, with the perpetrator detained soon after.
Another explosion near a military enlistment office in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, on Feb. 5 left at least one person dead and four injured. The circumstances of the explosion are being investigated.
Following Russia's instructions, the perpetrator of the Rivne attack arrived in the city with an improvised explosive device (IED) concealed in a tourist backpack. The device was linked to a mobile phone remotely controlled by Russian operatives, the SBU said.
Upon entering the military enlistment office, the suspect held another phone with a "remote control" function. Russian handlers monitored the operation through the phone's camera and detonated the IED remotely as soon as the agent stepped inside.
Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, condemned the recent attacks and called for a full investigation and prosecution of those responsible.
Kyiv has struggled to mobilize troops amid battlefield losses and the need to rotate soldiers who have been on the front lines since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Martin Fornusek
