SBU foils terror plot in Dnipro, detains suspected Russian agent behind planned explosion

Ukraine’s security service has detained a woman accused of working with Russian intelligence to plan a terrorist attack targeting law enforcement in the city of Dnipro, officials said.

The suspect, a 29-year-old native of Vinnytsia with a history of drug addiction, reportedly contacted Russian special services via Telegram in search of easy money, according to Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU.

After being recruited, she was sent to Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, where she retrieved a homemade explosive device from a concealed cache on orders from her handler. She was then instructed to travel to Dnipro, settle in a pre-rented apartment, and conduct reconnaissance around a law enforcement building that Russian forces allegedly planned to blow up.

The woman also selected a nearby location for a second hiding place, where she stashed the explosive device and sent the coordinates to her Russian handler. Another operative was expected to retrieve the device, plant it near the target, and detonate it.

SBU agents intercepted the plot, seized and defused the explosive, and arrested the woman as she attempted to flee Dnipro by minibus en route to Odesa.

She was charged with preparing a terrorist act by a group of persons (Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 258 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code). She remains in custody. If convicted, she faces up to 12 years in prison and the confiscation of property.