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The women are suspected of plotting terrorist attacks against high-ranking Russian officers and the country’s energy infrastructure, the agency has said
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that its operatives have curbed the activities of four female agents recruited by Ukraine to carry out acts of terrorism and sabotage inside Russia.
The suspects, who operated in the cities of Sevastopol, Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don, are believed to have been preparing attacks against high-ranking Russian officers and the country’s energy infrastructure, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
The women had previously undergone training inside Ukraine, being taught to use firearms, handle mine and explosives, operate UAVs and detect external surveillance, it added.
During searches at the homes of the suspects, “a significant amount” of explosive materials, chemical precursors for producing explosives, electric detonators and manuals for making improvised explosive devices have been seized, the FSB said.
According to the agency, the women have been charged with terrorism and face prison terms of up to 30 years.
The suspects have confessed to the crimes, the FSB said, adding that investigative activities to establish the identities of their accomplices are ongoing.
In the footage released by the FSB, the women said their handlers from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had paid them in cryptocurrency to carry out certain tasks and promised to eventually evacuate them to Western Europe or Ukraine, where they would have “a good life.”
Three of the suspects said they had been told to gather information and prepare bomb attacks against officers from the Russian Defense Ministry and government officials. The fourth woman confessed that her order was to infiltrate a Russian volunteer unit taking part in the Ukraine conflict to assassinate its commander with an explosive device.