Ukraine jails Russian intelligence agent for foiled bomb plot

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has sentenced a Russian military intelligence agent to 15 years in prison for planning a terrorist attack in the centre of Zaporizhzhia, authorities said.

The suspect, identified as an agent of Russia’s Main Directorate of the General Staff (GU), was detained in February 2024 while preparing an explosive device, according to the SBU, Caliber.Az reports. 

Investigators said the 33-year-old man, an employee of a local food industry company, had been recruited by Russian intelligence through an acquaintance operating in an occupied region of Ukraine. Acting on instructions from a Russian handler, he allegedly planned to bomb a post office using a homemade explosive with plastic explosives and a remote detonation mechanism.

Under the plan, the device was to be concealed in a box of food and sent via a private courier service to a post office’s cargo department. After delivery, the suspect was instructed to trigger the explosion by calling a mobile phone attached to the bomb, the SBU said.

Security officers arrested the suspect at his home while he was assembling the device, preventing the attack. The investigation also found that prior to the planned bombing, he carried out a “test” mission by photographing locations of Ukraine’s Defence Forces around the city.

During searches, authorities seized a smartphone that the suspect allegedly used to communicate with his Russian supervisor via an anonymous messaging application.

A Ukrainian court convicted the man on charges of high treason and preparation for a terrorist attack under the Criminal Code of Ukraine, sentencing him to 15 years in prison.

By Sabina Mammadli