The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has detained two suspected Russian agents in the Chernihiv region who were allegedly preparing to blow up a railway track in an attempt to derail a freight locomotive and disrupt transport logistics in northern Ukraine.
The SSU announced the arrests, according to Ukrinform.
SSU officers detained the suspects in the act as they were heading to the site of the planned sabotage. Investigators said the pair were carrying two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that they intended to place beneath a section of Ukrzaliznytsia railway track.
According to the investigation, the operation was carried out on the orders of Russian handlers by a mobilized serviceman from Kyiv who had gone absent without leave (AWOL) from his military unit. Investigators said he agreed to cooperate with Russia after being contacted through a Telegram channel in exchange for a promise of assistance in illegally leaving Ukraine.
The suspect allegedly recruited an acquaintance – a student at a higher education institution in Kyiv – to assist in the operation.
