SBU arrests two Russian-led saboteurs planning terror act in Kyiv
Source: Ukraine’s Security Service
The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have arrested two saboteurs hired by Russia’s military intelligence, the GRU, who were plotting a deadly attack in Kyiv.
The Russian-led agents were set to detonate a homemade explosive device in a busy public area in Kyiv, targeting civilians aiming to ‘stoke fear and panic’ among the city residents.
The plot started to shape up when Russian intelligence recruited a 20-year-old lady from Zaporizhzhia who was looking for quick money through odd jobs channels on Telegram app.
Soon she received detailed instructions on how to make an explosive device. The plan would see her plant two mobile phones wired with plastic explosives as detonators in a secret cache somewhere in Kyiv. The exact location of the cache would only be revealed just before the attack was set to take place.
The sabotage plan was led by a Russian GRU officer based in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia. The lady was joined by a 26-year-old partner.
Before heading to Kyiv, the saboteurs were tasked with a “trial run” by their Russian handlers: they were ordered to torch several Ukrainian military vehicles in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukrainian security team swooped in as the Russian agents attempted to set fire to a Ukrainian military vehicle in the southern combat zone. With the tools of their trade and damning evidence on their phones, the would-be saboteurs were promptly arrested.
Now, facing charges of high treason during wartime, the pair could be looking at life sentences with no chance of bail.
Amendments to Ukraine’s enforcement proceedings legislation, initiated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, have entered into force. Among other measures, the reform provides for the automated lifting of attachments on bank accounts immediately after debts in enforcement proceedings have been fully settled. The main practical benefit for citizens is the complete elimination of the need to contact an enforcement officer in person and wait for paper decisions once the debt has been paid.
The 157th Separate Mechanized Brigade has received another batch of supplies as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front military initiative. This time, the military received seven quad bikes and four mobile shower and bath units.
In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.
Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.