Russia foils drone attack on oil facility, saboteurs eliminated

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said it thwarted a planned drone attack on an oil facility in the Komi region, with two suspects killed during their arrest.

According to the FSB Public Relations Centre, cited by TASS, the incident took place in the city of Ukhta, where two Russian citizens were preparing a sabotage operation on orders from Ukrainian intelligence services.

The agency said the individuals, acting under direction from handlers, retrieved drones with improvised explosive devices from a pre-prepared cache “to carry out an explosion at one of the region’s oil industry enterprises.”

“During an attempt to detain them by FSB officers, the individuals offered armed resistance and were eliminated by return fire in a shootout. Security officers and civilians were not injured,” the FSB said.

The agency added that two unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with combat payloads containing foreign-made explosives were seized at the scene, along with two Makarov pistols. It also stated that data from the suspects’ phones allegedly contained evidence of their activities.

According to the FSB, the suspects had been communicating with Ukrainian intelligence services via foreign messaging apps and were transmitting information about oil refining facilities in the region, as well as data on Russian military personnel and law enforcement officers involved in what Moscow calls its “special military operation.”

The Investigative Directorate of the FSB in the Komi Republic has opened a criminal case under Article 30, Part 3, and Article 2.

By Jeyhun Aghazada