FSB Unveils Disrupted Car Bomb Scheme Linked to Alleged Ukrainian Agents Targeting Defense Official

On Thursday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the apprehension of three individuals accused of attempting to assassinate a defense industry executive using a car bomb in St. Petersburg.

The arrested individuals, all citizens of Russia, reportedly operated under the guidance of a handler affiliated with what the FSB identified as a «Ukrainian terrorist organization” connected to Kyiv’s military intelligence.

According to the FSB, “Two of the detainees surveilled the target, conducted reconnaissance at his home, and transferred the explosive device to the individual responsible from a stash hidden in one of St. Petersburg’s cemeteries.”

The specific identity of the defense executive and the company for which he works were not disclosed in the statement from the FSB.

A video released by the agency depicted one of the alleged conspirators, a man disguised as an elderly woman, which authorities stated was an effort to avoid detection. The FSB claimed that he was arrested after placing a bomb beneath the defense executive’s vehicle. The footage also included two young women who described tracking the executive’s activities.

In the recording, all three individuals indicated that they had “voluntarily joined a Ukrainian terrorist organization” in the previous summer. The formal nature of their statements raised questions about whether they had been coerced.

The FSB indicated that the suspects could face charges including terrorism, treason, and illegal possession of explosives.