MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained seven Moscow residents who are supporters of Ukraine’s Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) (designated a terrorist organization in Russia) and are suspected of planning to set up a criminal group with the intent of carrying out acts of sabotage, the FSB Public Relations Center (PRC) told TASS.
"FSB officers, with assistance from the Omega Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR) of the Russian National Guard [Rosgvardiya] for Moscow have prevented an attempt to set up a criminal group in Moscow consisting of supporters of the nationalist organization Russian Volunteer Corps [RVC]," the PRC said in a statement.
"The seven detained Moscow residents had been maintaining contact with the RVC, which serves as part of Ukraine's armed formations fighting against the Russian Army, and they had been discussing ways to carry out acts of violence against law enforcement officials, military personnel and foreigners," the statement added.
The FSB did not name the detained suspects, adding that FSB officers seized at the suspects’ places of residence a machete, a tactical axe, eight knives, an aerosol gun and pepper spray cans, as well as flags bearing Nazi symbols and communications devices containing correspondence with RVC leaders.
"Operative search and investigative measures are continuing and procedures for opening a criminal case are underway," the FSB’s press office added.