Law enforcement officers in Odesa detained a woman who, according to investigators, was an agent of Russian intelligence and, on its orders, set fire to “Ukrzaliznytsia” energy facilities and prepared caches of firearms and explosives for terrorist attacks. She was charged with treason
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
According to the case materials, the defendant is a 32-year-old woman from Odesa, who was recruited remotely by a personnel officer of the Russian intelligence Special Operations Forces (SOF) at the end of last year.
Law enforcement officers determined that she set fire to a relay cabinet of a signaling installation and a transformer substation on a local railway line.
After that, she was tasked with setting up a cache near the port with components for an improvised explosive device for further terrorist attacks in the region.
To do this, the woman traveled to the Dnipro River, where, following the coordinates of her Russian handler, she retrieved an explosive element from a hiding place — it was disguised in a cigarette pack. In Odesa, the woman tried to plant this element in a previously prepared hiding place near the port infrastructure.
At this stage, the SBU counterintelligence officers caught the agent red-handed and seized part of the explosive device from her. SBU determined that the suspect was then supposed to pick up a firearm from a front-line city.
During the searches, law enforcement officers seized a mobile phone from the detainee, which contained evidence of cooperation with Russian special services. The perpetrator is currently in custody. She faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
- Recently, cases have become more frequent in Ukraine where Russia recruits Ukrainian citizens, promising them money to blow up or mine police stations, other state bodies, and law enforcement or military personnel of various structures.
- In December 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine launched an official chatbot "Spali FSBshnika" so that Ukrainian citizens could report when Russian agents were trying to recruit them for arson, terrorist attacks, or mining.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.