Russian security services say a 19-year-old Ukrainian man was detained after attempting to assassinate the head of a Russian arms plant, disguising himself as an elderly woman to place a bomb under the target’s car. The FSB said the suspect collected an explosive device hidden in a cemetery in St. Petersburg before changing into a babushka outfit to carry out the attack. In a video released by authorities, officers are seen detaining a person in a long skirt and headscarf, framed by officials who described the act as part of an operation against a suspected Ukrainian intelligence cell.
Two women who were part of the alleged spy ring were detained on the way to the airport, the FSB said. Investigators said the detainees acted on instructions from a supervisor linked to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's defense ministry. The authorities released footage they said shows the arrest and pointed to the three detainees as members of a network ordered to carry out the operation. Meduza, which cited investigators, noted the three suspects were born in 1993, 1994 and 2006, and that their names had not been published. The military plant involved in the plan was not identified.
According to the investigation, the saboteur was recruited via Telegram by Ukrainian secret services and conducted reconnaissance near the target’s residence before handing the explosive device to the agent through a stash set up at a cemetery in St. Petersburg. The detainee provided a detailed account of the operation in a confession reported by the FSB. He described traveling to the site by public transport, then moving to Sosnovka Park, where he changed into women’s clothes before approaching the target’s car.
“I went, picked up the package [in a cemetery], a black power bank-shaped device with magnets,” the detainee allegedly told investigators. “They sent me the exact location where the car was parked, with recent photos. I took public transport to Sosnovka Park.” He added that he went to Sosnovka Park at about 4 a.m., changed into the clothes, left the park around 5 a.m., and reached the car at roughly 6 a.m., where he attached the device before being detained.
Officials did not identify the plant or the target, and the suspects’ identities were not released. The three individuals are said to be born in 1993, 1994 and 2006, according to Meduza, which cited investigators. All three could face life imprisonment under Russia’s terrorism laws, depending on the outcome of the investigation and any charges filed. The case illustrates ongoing frictions between Russia and Ukraine and underscores the use of covert operatives in the broader conflict.
As the investigation continues, authorities emphasized that the plot appeared to involve a coordinated effort among individuals recruited to act on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence. The public release of the video and confessional statements aims to provide a window into how such plots are conceived, executed, and disrupted, and to underscore the risks associated with cross-border infiltration.