Ukrainian Security Service uncovers Russian FSB spy network planning arson attacks in EU

Authorities apprehended the group leader and his accomplice in Prykarpattia (Western Ukraine) region. 

One of the suspects communicated with an unidentified Russian representative via a mobile app. He agreed to recruit individuals for subversive activities against Ukraine in exchange for money, the Prosecutor General Office said.

The criminal group consisted of 19 members residing in Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Zaporizhzhya oblasts.

The operatives recruited candidates to commit arson attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine and abroad. 

Their primary targets included shopping centers, gas stations, pharmacies, and markets. They used personal connections within criminal circles to find future perpetrators.

To facilitate the arsonists' travel abroad, the group prepared forged documents. After carrying out the arson attacks, the perpetrators were instructed to record the fires on video to report back to the FSB.

Law enforcement officers seized mobile phones, handwritten notes, forged documents, firearms, bank cards, and cash amounting to $77,000 and 500,000 hryvnias ($12,120) after conducting 37 raids.

The ringleader and his accomplice have been charged with collaborationism under Article 111, Part 2, and document forgery under Article 358, Part 3, of the Ukrainian Criminal Code. 

They face life imprisonment if convicted.