MOSCOW: Russia’s Federal Safety Service (FSB) mentioned on Tuesday (Dec 10) it had detained a twin Russian-German citizen on suspicion of making ready an act of sabotage on a railroad in Nizhny Novgorod, a metropolis some 450km east of Moscow.
The FSB didn’t identify the person, however mentioned he was born in 2003. It mentioned authorities had discovered an improvised explosive gadget (IED) at his residence, in addition to proof he had corresponded with a member of Ukrainian particular providers.
Ukraine’s army intelligence and state safety service didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Russian officers have linked pro-Ukrainian sabotage teams with quite a few assaults on railways aimed toward disrupting provides to the battle entrance in Ukraine for the reason that struggle started in February 2022.
Ukraine’s home spy company has additionally been accused of detonating explosives on railway traces inside Russia.
Russian army information outlet Zvezda revealed video on Tuesday purporting to point out the Russian-German man, whose face was blurred out, confessing to the crime. It was not clear if the person confessed below duress.
Within the video, he mentioned he had arrived in Russia in 2023 and had met a person named Artyom on-line, who turned out to be “a member of the Ukrainian particular providers”.
He mentioned the person paid him to set fireplace to a fuse field and draw pro-Ukrainian graffiti. “The final process he proposed to me was to explode, properly, derail a prepare, a freight prepare,” the person mentioned within the video.
The FSB mentioned a felony case had been opened in opposition to him. It mentioned it had detained different people alongside the Russian-German nationwide, however didn’t present particulars on them.
The German international ministry didn’t instantly reply to a remark request.
Final month, the FSB detained German citizen Nikolai Gaiduk on suspicion of explosives-smuggling and terrorism, accusing him of blowing up a pipe at a fuel distribution station in Russia’s Kaliningrad Baltic Sea exclave earlier this 12 months.