Russia announced on Friday that it had detained four women accused of working as agents for Ukrainian special services.
The women are alleged to have been planning attacks on energy facilities and senior Russian officers.
“The FSB has suppressed the activities of four women agents recruited by the Ukrainian special services,” the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement.
Since the start of the war with Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has arrested numerous individuals on charges of espionage and collaborating with Ukraine’s intelligence services.
The FSB reported that the women were arrested in Sevastopol, a city in Crimea that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, as well as in Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don.
According to the FSB, the women were trained in Ukraine in the use of firearms, explosives, and drones for the purpose of carrying out sabotage and terrorism against Russia’s defence ministry and energy infrastructure.
The FSB also claimed that searches of the women’s homes uncovered a variety of explosives, bomb-making materials, and communication devices used to contact their Ukrainian handlers.
The women reportedly admitted to their involvement and now face up to 30 years in prison.
