Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained two Russian nationals suspected of planning a sabotage attack at a defense industry facility in the Moscow region, the agency announced on Monday.
The suspects allegedly established contacts with representatives of a known Ukrainian terrorist organization in Russia, the FSB said.
The men, acting independently, reportedly made contact via the Telegram messaging app and secured jobs at one of Moscow’s defense enterprises to carry out reconnaissance.
They are accused of photographing key infrastructure at the facility and sending the images to their handlers. According to the FSB, the suspects retrieved components from pre-arranged caches and assembled improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with the intent of disrupting operations at the plant.
They were detained while attempting to smuggle the devices onto the premises. Both men have reportedly confessed to carrying out terrorist assignments aimed at halting the plant’s activity.
The devices were reportedly disguised as power banks, one of the suspects said in a video released by the FSB. “I was supposed to place them on two installations, but I only delivered them and was detained afterwards,” he said.
The other suspect said he had been recruited “to conduct surveillance and sabotage operations,” including tracking engineering infrastructure and photographing license plates of unknown vehicles. “Then I was ordered to carry out a sabotage act.”
The investigation to determine the full extent of the sabotage plot, collect evidence of potential high treason, and identify those who orchestrated the attack, is ongoing, according to the agency.
Last week, the FSB detained two women accused of working on behalf of Ukraine. One allegedly collected intelligence on air defense systems near the Crimean Bridge for Kiev.
The agency also reported the arrest of a 59-year-old man in Crimea who it has accused of assembling an improvised explosive device, under instructions from Ukrainian handlers.