MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. Officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) have detained two Russian nationals who attempted to bring improvised explosive devices to a defense industry facility in the Moscow Region, the FSB said in a statement.
"The Federal Security Service has disrupted the illegal activities of two Russian nationals, born in 1987 and 1999, who planned to carry out acts of sabotage at a defense industry site in the Moscow Region," the statement reads.
"In preparation for subversive activities, the perpetrators retrieved components from caches and assembled improvised explosive devices. They were detained by FSB officers while trying to access the premises with these devices, and confessed to acting on instructions from a terrorist organization, whose goal was to halt the operation of the defense facility," the FSB added.
According to the agency, the suspects, acting independently of one another, used the Telegram messenger to establish contact with members of the Ukrainian organization, designated as terrorist by the Russian Supreme Court. They received orders to obtain employment at a Moscow defense plant, where they conducted reconnaissance and photographed the main facilities, forwarding the images to their handlers.
The Investigative Service of the FSB in Moscow and the Moscow Region launched criminal cases into the suspects under Russian Criminal Code Articles 30.3 and 281.2 ("Attempted Sabotage"), and Article 222.1.3 ("Illegal Acquisition, Handover, Sale, Storage, Transfer and Possession of Explosives and Explosive Devices"). They have been taken into custody.
"Investigative and search measures are underway to clarify all details of the saboteurs’ activities, document their offenses under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code ("High Treason"), and identify the organizers of the crime," the FSB stressed.
"The Russian FSB emphasizes that Ukrainian intelligence agencies are increasingly using the Telegram and WhatsApp messengers to recruit individuals for sabotage and reconnaissance missions," the statement notes.