Ukrainian saboteurs nearly blew themselves up – officials (VIDEO)
Two alleged Ukrainian agents were injured in an explosion earlier this month while assembling an improvised explosive device in central Russia, Russia's Investigative Committee has announced. Both were subsequently detained, local officials have said.
A Moldovan national is also reportedly under investigation for allegedly helping to deliver bomb components used in the failed plot.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Investigative Committee said the suspects – a Ukrainian national and a Belarusian citizen – were preparing a 'terrorist act' targeting a serviceman from a Russian volunteer battalion involved in the Ukraine conflict.
The improvised bomb exploded while they were assembling the device in the city of Khanty-Mansiysk on April 12. The blast destroyed two apartments and left five people hospitalized, including the suspects themselves, the authorities said.
The parts, provided by a Ukrainian intelligence agent, were allegedly disguised inside a screwdriver battery and an aromatic candle, and delivered from Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine, via Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus, according to the Committee.
The Investigative Committee also released a video showing the moment of the explosion, which damaged the corner of the building, along with footage of emergency crews extinguishing the fire and investigators working at the scene.
Two men are seen being escorted by police into a law enforcement building and admitting responsibility for the blast and their involvement in the assassination plot.
Initial media reports on the incident suggested a gas explosion. However, regional officials were quick to dismiss the claim, saying that the building was not connected to a gas supply.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Moscow has accused Ukrainian special services of attempts to assassinate numerous Russian commanders, officials and other high-profile figures as well as sabotage operations.
On Sunday, Moscow announced that it had detained a suspected Ukrainian-linked culprit behind the killing of Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy chief of operations of Russia's General Staff, who died in a car explosion earlier this month.
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