Russia’s FSB security service said Wednesday that it arrested a man who was suspected of plotting an arson attack against a military enlistment office in the central Kaluga region on orders from Ukraine.
In an FSB video aired by state media, the 22-year-old man, whose face was blurred, said an officer from Ukraine’s military intelligence service offered him money to carry out a series of criminal acts.
“First, I was tasked with putting up graffiti discrediting the Russian government, and then burning down a military enlistment office,” the man said in the video, adding that he had been in contact with his handler for around a year before his arrest.
FSB officers seized several canisters of flammable liquid along with electronic devices containing chat logs between the suspect and his handler, the law enforcement agency said.
An FSB officer featured in the video said foreign handlers often start by assigning recruits basic tasks — such as collecting publicly available information and monitoring local developments — before escalating to higher-stakes attacks.
