MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a 48-year-old Russian national who was recruited by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) to carry out a terrorist attack on a senior Defense Ministry official, the agency said in a statement.
"A Russian national born in 1978 was detained in Krasnodar for plotting a terrorist attack in the Moscow Region, targeting a senior Russian Defense Ministry official on orders from the Ukrainian Security Service," the statement reads.
According to the FSB, Ukrainian intelligence agencies planned to carry out an act of sabotage and terrorism near the apartment building where the service member lives, "using a drone carrying an explosive device with shrapnel as he entered the building."
"As instructed by his handler, the suspect rented an apartment in Moscow, where he installed two cameras to conduct remote video surveillance of the target’s residence. He also purchased means of disguise, including a fake moustache, beard, and glasses, which he intended to use during the attack," the FSB said.
FSB officers seized an improvised explosive device filled with 600 grams of explosives, a phone containing the suspect's correspondence with his handler, which confirmed their plans to kill the service member, as well as cameras and means of disguise.
According to the FSB, the intended perpetrator of the terrorist attack had been convicted of theft and robbery in Russia in 2002. After serving his sentence, he left for Ukraine, where he settled with his family in the city of Dnepropetrovsk. "In February 2026, his wife faced the threat of criminal prosecution, and the man was recruited by the enemy. He received training in using explosives and weapons before arriving in Russia via Chisinau and Yerevan to carry out the terrorist attack," the FSB said.
"The suspect was supposed to undergo additional training in Kiev conducted by Western intelligence officers," the agency added.
The FSB Investigation Department in the Krasnodar Region opened a criminal case under Articles 30.1 and 205.3 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Attempted act of terrorism").
This was part of a major series of terrorist and subversive attacks planned by Ukrainian intelligence agencies with the backing of Western sponsors, which the FSB has thwarted.