The counterintelligence of the SBU, along with the National Police, arrested five individuals who collaborated with the aggressor country to carry out sabotage in Ukraine.
According to investigation materials, the detainees set fire to energy facilities of Ukrzaliznytsia and vehicles of the Defense Forces, and attempted to plant explosives under a military vehicle.
It has been established that the suspects were recruited by the enemy while searching for «easy earnings» on Telegram.
In Lviv, authorities caught two agents red-handed who planted an improvised explosive device under the car of a Ukrainian soldier, which the Russians planned to detonate remotely.
Investigators found that the preparation for the terrorist act involved a 17-year-old boy from Dnipropetrovsk and his 16-year-old girlfriend from Cherkasy, who received instructions from the occupiers.
Upon arriving in Lviv, the young agents retrieved a backpack containing 4.5 kg of explosives from a hideout.
They then tracked the victim's car, left the explosives underneath it, and set up a camera for remote access by Russian intelligence.
In Kyiv, a 23-year-old local was arrested for igniting a relay cabinet at a railway signaling facility.
Additionally, a 29-year-old Kyiv resident was detained for causing a fire in a military vehicle and a service truck of the Armed Forces.
In Volyn, a 14-year-old schoolboy from Kovel was arrested for setting fire to a minivan belonging to a Ukrainian defender.
Based on the collected evidence, the suspects have been charged with several offenses under the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 258 (completed attempt to commit a terrorist act by a group of individuals);
- Part 2 of Article 113 (sabotage committed during martial law);
- Part 1 of Article 114-1 (obstruction of lawful activities of the Armed Forces and other military formations);
- Part 2 of Article 194 (deliberate destruction of property by arson).
The offenders face various prison sentences, including life imprisonment with property confiscation. The operation was carried out by SBU officers in Kyiv and the regions of Kyiv, Lviv, and Volyn, in collaboration with the National Police under the supervision of local prosecutors.
