Russian agent arrested in Kyiv cafe attack attempt
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a Russian agent who attempted to carry out a bombing at a cafe in the heart of Ukraine's capital on the evening of July 23.
The SBU said this in a statement posted on its website, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.
To commit the attack, the agent planned to leave two improvised explosive devices (IEDs), with a combined yield equivalent to nearly 1.5 kg of TNT, inside the cafe. Russian intelligence services intended to detonate them remotely during the busy evening hours to cause maximum casualties.
Law enforcement officers apprehended the suspect as she entered the cafe with the IEDs hidden in her bag.
Investigators determined that the woman, a Kyiv resident, had been recruited by Russian operatives to carry out a terrorist attack under a "false flag." She had been misled into believing that she was acting on behalf of the SBU.
The SBU is currently investigating how she obtained the explosive devices.
It has been documented that the suspect received the geolocation of the planned bombing site from her Russian handler, instructing her where to leave the explosives.
A mobile phone was confiscated from the suspect, containing evidence of her communication with the occupiers.
Authorities are currently determining the legal classification of her actions.
The SBU emphasized that its representatives do not recruit people by phone, do not propose illegal actions, and do not assign suspicious tasks. The agency operates strictly within the framework of Ukrainian law.
