MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. The Federal Security Service has prevented a terrorist attack by Ukraine on its headquarters in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol organized, the FSB said.
"It has been established that a representative of the special operations forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (SOF of the Armed Forces of Ukraine) contacted a resident of Crimea via the Telegram messenger, introduced himself as an employee of the FSB of Russia and offered to join the security service. As a test task, the candidate had to bring a portable audio speaker with a recording function to the administrative building of the FSB of Russia for the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, allegedly to identify ‘traitors’ in the special service," the FSB said in a statement.
After the man arrived at the checkpoint, he was searched and detained. An improvised explosive device disguised as an audio speaker was found on him, consisting of 1 kg of a foreign-made explosive, an electric detonator and damaging elements in the form of ball bearings, triggered when activated by the instigator. According to the plan of the Ukrainian special services, the detonation of the explosive device would have led to the death of not only FSB officers, but also the man who brought the bomb in, who would have unwittingly become a suicide bomber.
The organizer of the terrorist attack
"Upon investigating, we found that a person tricked the detainee into illegal activities and planned a terrorist act. He turned out to be an employee of a separate special purpose center of the South group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, First Lieutenant Ivan Alekseyevich Krinov, born on January 10, 1996," the FSB said.
According to the FSB, he also attracted a resident of the Volgograd Region as a "live bomb" to hand over an Orthodox icon with an explosive device camouflaged in it to FSB officers in Simferopol under false pretenses in August 2025. That terrorist attack was also prevented.
The FSB said Krinov’s official place of residence is in Kramatorsk, and he currently lives at an address known to the FSB in Odessa with his wife and a young child. In 2013-2015 Krinov studied at the Kramatorsk Technological College, from 2015 to 2019 at the Donbass National Academy of Construction and Architecture, from 2016 to 2023 he served in the Donetsk detachment of the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since 2024, he has worked for the SOF.
The FSB has opened a criminal case against Krinov under Part 3 of Article 30, Part 1 of Article 205 (attempted terrorist act), part 4 of Article 205.1 (assistance to terrorist activities) and Part 3 of Article 222.1 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, transfer or carrying explosives or explosive devices) of the Russian Criminal Code. The person involved will be put on the international wanted list, detained and brought to criminal responsibility in accordance with Russian law, the FSB said.
FSB warning
"The FSB of Russia warns that, using manipulative methods, fraudsters can impersonate law enforcement officers," the statement read, adding that search activities are carried out by FSB officers only in person with the presentation of an official ID.
"Don't fall victim to phone scams. If unknown people introduce themselves as employees of the FSB of Russia and ask you to make financial transactions or take part in operational activities on behalf of the FSB of Russia, stop the conversation and inform law enforcement agencies about this," the Russian special service urged, noting that the Security Service of Ukraine, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry, as well as Ukrainian nationalist structures use Russian citizens to commit acts of sabotage and terrorism as suicide bombers. "This allows the Ukrainian special services to get rid of unwanted witnesses and not pay them the promised remuneration," the FSB said.