The Russian security services (FSB) said Thursday, December 2 that they had arrested three Ukrainian spies, one of whom was preparing an "
attack
" with explosives, at the height of tensions between the two countries.
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The FSB did not specify in which regions or on what date these suspected Ukrainian spies were arrested. According to a statement from the Russian security services, two of them "
arrived in Russia to gather information and make photo and video recordings of installations of vital strategic importance and transport infrastructure
". "
A short-barreled weapon and an automatic weapon, as well as personal protective equipment, were found in the vehicle they were using,
" they added.
According to the FSB, these two men "
confessed to having been recruited
" by the Ukrainian security services, the SBU, in exchange for a reward of 10,000 dollars. The third alleged agent "
was arrested in the act with destruction means while on his way to the scene of the crime
". According to the FSB, the latter was arrested with two improvised explosive devices equivalent to 1.5 kg of TNT. He "
crossed the Russian border illegally
" and also had to "
equip caches
" with explosives.
The Ukrainian security services, the SBU, for their part assured that these arrests were part of the "
hybrid war
" and of the "
informational propaganda
" of Russia.
They assured to have for their part "
exposed about 50
Russian
agents
" in Ukraine this year, including two "
caught in the act
", and identified some 5,000 cyberattacks carried out by Moscow.
Conviction of suspected Ukrainian agent
The FSB also announced Thursday the sentencing, in another case, of a suspected Ukrainian military intelligence officer to six and a half years in prison by a Russian court.
This alleged agent, arrested in July, was found guilty of "
coordinating the preparation and supervision of a sabotage group sent to Russian territory from Ukraine
".
This group of four people, who were arrested in 2016, were tasked with blowing up "
the Crimean Central Radio-Television Transmission Tower, a mobile gas turbine power station, a fuel warehouse and the mast of the Radio Center of Crimea. the Russian Black Sea Fleet,
”according to Moscow.
Russia regularly announces the arrest of people it presents as spies or "
saboteurs
" working for Ukraine, especially in Crimea, a peninsula it annexed in 2014. The arrests announced Thursday come at the height of tensions between the two countries, Kiev saying it fears an imminent invasion while Moscow is accused of having massed troops on the border.
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Russia denies any bellicose inclination and in return accuses Ukraine of constituting a "
threat
" for it and NATO of wanting to extend to its borders.