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Russia’s FSB prevents sabotage activities in Crimea

The Russian Federal Security Service has also detained a Ukrainian agent for plotting sabotage

MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/.  An agent of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has been detained in Crimea for plotting sabotage activities, the press center of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The Federal Security Service has prevented sabotage activities against a number of Crimean infrastructure and welfare facilities," the statement reads. "During investigative activities, officers of the FSB department in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol detained an agent of the Ukrainian Security Service’s Kherson regional branch, who was dispatched to Crimea in order to carry out acts of sabotage," the FSB press center added.

The detainee, Gennady Limeshko, is a Ukrainian citizen coming from the Kharkov region. In the past, he served as a senior scout in a Ukrainian military unit taking part in the so-called anti-terrorist operation in Donbass.

On August 9, Limeshko arrived in Crimea to implement the SBU’s orders to damage powerlines between the town of Sudak and the Novy Svet settlement that could lead to a power outage affecting an area with a population of more than 50,000. He had been also tasked to set forests in the Sudak area on fire and create conditions for landslides blocking the highway connecting Sudak and Novy Svet. Limeshko also planned to set on fire a public utility facility in the Rybachye settlement area.

"On August 12, 2017, Limeshko was detained by officers of the Federal Security Service while attempting to destroy a powerline near the highway connecting Sudak and Novy Svet," the FSB press service added.

Two TNT blocks were seized from the Ukrainian, as well as a trigger mechanism for explosive devices, a hand grenade, containers with flammable mixtures, a handsaw for filing through electricity poles and a digital photo camera to document his activities and present a report to his seniors at the Ukrainian Security Service.

"The FSB department in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol has launched a criminal case. An investigation is underway to establish the possible accomplices of the Ukrainian saboteur," the FSB press center said.