Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday that it arrested a man and his girlfriend on suspicion of planning to blow up a railway track in annexed Crimea on orders from Ukraine.
The unidentified man and woman were arrested “trying to place an explosive device under the railroad tracks” in April near the city of Kerch, where the Russian-built Crimean bridge connects with the mainland, the FSB said. Moscow has used the railway passing through the bridge to supply its military in Ukraine.
The pair were charged with terrorism, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as well as weapons trafficking, punishable by up to 12 years in prison.
The FSB said in a statement that both the man and his girlfriend admitted their guilt and were cooperating with investigators.
In a video shared by state media, the arrested man said he had received instructions on “where to place the explosive device on the rail tracks.”
The FSB claimed that the man was recruited by Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency online in October. He then was alleged to have involved his “cohabitant” in supplying photographs of Russian troops, air defense systems, and energy site positions to Kyiv.
Moscow has blamed Ukraine for a series of fires and derailments on Russia’s rail network since the start of the full-scale invasion.
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