The SBU detained a Russian agent who planted explosives near a government building in downtown Rivne

The Security Service of Ukraine foiled a terrorist attack in downtown Rivne. According to the investigation, a Russian agent planted a homemade explosive device in a trash can near one of the government buildings. He then used a messaging app to inform his Russian handler that the mission had been completed.

According to investigators, Russian intelligence services planned to remotely detonate the device during rush hour to cause as many civilian casualties as possible.

The SBU stated that the enemy’s plot was uncovered in advance, and the agent was caught “red-handed” as he attempted to flee the scene of the planned terrorist attack.

Law enforcement officers also seized and defused the homemade bomb.

According to the investigation, the task assigned by Russian intelligence services was carried out by a recruited courier from a local delivery service. He came to the attention of Russian intelligence officers through Telegram channels where they were looking for people seeking so-called “easy money.”

After being recruited, the man—as the SBU claims—rode around Rivne on a moped under the guise of making deliveries and used his phone to photograph the outer perimeters and parking lots of government facilities.

“**After being recruited, the agent rode around the city on a moped under the pretext of making deliveries to photograph the outer perimeters and parking lots of government facilities with his phone.

In this way, the perpetrator was scouting for a location to carry out a terrorist attack, about which he regularly ‘reported’ to his handler in Russia.

Subsequently, the Russian intelligence officer sent his accomplice the coordinates of a hideout, from which he later retrieved a homemade remote-controlled explosive device**,” the SBU statement reads. 

During a search of the suspect’s residence, law enforcement officers discovered a smartphone on which he had stored photographs of government facilities and which he used to communicate with the Russian intelligence officer.

According to the SBU, the man was notified of his status as a suspect under Part 2 of Article 15 and Part 2 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—completed attempt to commit a terrorist act. 

The detainee is being held in custody without the right to bail. He faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

In addition, the issue of further classifying his actions under the article on high treason is being considered.

Comprehensive measures were carried out by SBU officers in the Rivne region under the procedural guidance of the Rivne Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

At the same time, the detainee’s guilt has not been definitively established and must be proven by a court conviction.

The SBU reported this on September 23. 

Earlier, the SBU’s counterintelligence unit detained a Russian military intelligence agent in the Donetsk region who was guiding guided aerial bombs and strike drones in the Sloviansk direction.

The Russian intelligence agent changed jobs at various enterprises in Dnipro to gather information for adjusting Russian strikes. Eventually, the man secured a position at a defense sector enterprise, where he drew up detailed diagrams of workshops and warehouses.