Ukraine’s Security Service's (SSU) counterintelligence and investigators have thwarted a major terrorist attack on a busy central street in Kyiv. During a special operation in the city, they detained a Russian agent who was planning to detonate explosives near an SSU facility.

Source : Ukraine's Security Service; Prosecutor General's Office

Quote : "The investigation indicates that the suspect reached out to a Russian intelligence operative through a messenger group and agreed to collaborate in December 2024. Her mission was to carry out a terrorist attack aimed at causing casualties among SSU personnel."

Details : The suspect rented a flat opposite an SSU facility and installed remote-access cameras, enabling Russian operatives to monitor the building. She also brought in 7 kg of TNT and detonators to assemble an explosive device.

Photo: Ukraine’s Security Service

Although this location was no longer in use by SSU personnel, who had been relocated to backup sites following the full-scale invasion, the SSU warned that the planned attack could have caused mass civilian casualties in central Kyiv.

Photo: Ukraine’s Security Service

Acting preemptively, SSU operatives caught the suspect in the act as she retrieved a bag of explosives from a hiding place and headed back to her rented flat. At the scene, officers found a homemade explosive device with the equivalent power of 7 kg of TNT – enough to seriously damage the building and kill anyone nearby.  

The case materials show that Russian operatives had remotely recruited a 22-year-old drug addict from Lviv who was looking for "quick money" on Telegram. Following their instructions, she travelled to Kyiv, where her Russian handler had prearranged a flat for her in the city centre.  

After moving in, she received a mini surveillance camera via courier and mounted it on the balcony. With remote access, Russian intelligence could monitor Kyiv’s central streets in real time, intending to capture the aftermath of the attack.  

During a search, SSU operatives also seized the suspect’s mobile phone, which she had used to communicate with Russian intelligence.  

She has now been formally charged under multiple articles of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.

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