MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a Russian woman suspected of preparing a drone attack on a military airfield on orders from the Security Service of Ukraine, the FSB said in a statement.
TASS has compiled the key details available so far.
Foiled attack
- The Federal Security Service in the Voronezh Region foiled a large-scale act of sabotage and terrorism orchestrated by the Security Service of Ukraine, which planned to attack the Russian Defense Ministry’s Baltimor military airfield with short-range drones, the agency said.
- Law enforcement operations made it possible to expose and disrupt the illegal activities of a Russian woman who had been recruited by a Ukrainian intelligence officer during a trip to Ukraine in 2022.
- Acting on instructions from her handler, she traveled to Voronezh and rented a garage, where she planned to assemble and launch drones meant to be used to destroy infrastructure and aircraft, as well as kill military airfield staff," the FSB said.
- The drones were supposed to be operated remotely by personnel based in Ukraine.
- According to the FSB, the woman retrieved nine drones equipped with explosive devices, along with drone control equipment, from previously established caches and took them to the garage. Each drone carried 500 grams of foreign-made explosives.
- FSB officers responded immediately after receiving intel, promptly detaining the accomplice of Ukrainian intelligence agencies and preventing the act of sabotage before it was carried out, thus containing the potential consequences of the Kiev regime’s actions against the military facility, the FSB said.
Confessions
- The woman confessed to cooperating with the Ukrainian intelligence service, according to a video released by the FSB.
- She said she had been living in Ukraine when Russia launched its special military operation.
- According to the suspect, a Ukrainian intelligence officer recruited her and suggested that she travel to Russia to carry out his orders in exchange for a cash reward.
- On his instructions, she traveled to Voronezh and rented a garage near the military airfield, the woman said.
- She added that she had retrieved drones and explosives from caches, brought them to the garage and assembled them as instructed by her handler.
- The woman also said that she had planned to return to Ukraine after completing her mission.
Investigation
- The suspect has been taken into custody.
- Efforts are ongoing to establish all circumstances of the crime and identify all those involved," the FSB said.