Ukraine foils plot to bomb railway in Chernihiv region PHOTO

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has detained several suspects accused of plotting to blow up a railway line in the Chernihiv region in an attempt to derail a freight locomotive and disrupt transport logistics in northern Ukraine.

The SBU said officers caught the suspects "red-handed" as they were heading to the site of the planned sabotage operation, Caliber.Az reports.

Two improvised explosive devices intended to be planted beneath railway tracks operated by Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) were recovered at the scene.

Among those detained was a mobilised serviceman from Kyiv who had abandoned his military unit without permission.

The SBU noted that he agreed to cooperate with Russia through a Telegram channel in exchange for promises of assistance in leaving Ukraine illegally. Investigators said he recruited an acquaintance to take part in the planned attack.

Searches of the suspects' temporary residence uncovered materials used to manufacture explosives, including chemicals, laboratory equipment, detonators and communication devices, the SBU added.

The suspects have been remanded in custody and face life imprisonment with confiscation of property if convicted.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov