According to reports from the Russian Security Service, a terrorist attack on nuclear power facilities in Russia organized by the Ukrainian security services has been prevented. The plan was to blow up more than 30 high-voltage power line towers at the Leningrad and Kalinin nuclear power plants. This act would have caused the shutdown of the nuclear reactors and caused serious economic and reputational damage to Russia. The group responsible for this sabotage attempt was identified as a sabotage and terrorism team of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
The Russian Federal Security Service reported that the saboteurs succeeded in destroying one of the transmission towers of the Leningrad nuclear power plant and placed explosives on four other towers. In addition, improvised explosive devices were found under seven towers at the Kalinin nuclear power plant. As a result of the operation, two Ukrainian citizens were arrested, and one Russian-Ukrainian citizen, who is currently in Belgium, has been declared a fugitive.
It was discovered that the men recruited by the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service received special training in camps located in the Kyiv and Nikolayev regions. To carry out the sabotage, they illegally crossed the Russian-Belarusian border in the Pskov region, having entered Belarus from Ukraine via Poland.
In addition to the arrests, 36.5 kilograms of C-4 plastic explosive, 61 foreign-made electric detonators, 38 electronic timers, and two pistols with ammunition were confiscated. Two Russian nationals who had assisted the saboteurs by providing them with communication equipment and vehicles were also arrested.
These events underscore the existing tension between Russia and Ukraine as well as the dangers associated with possible acts of sabotage at nuclear facilities. The Russian Federal Security Service has succeeded in preventing an attack that could have had devastating consequences, and further investigations are underway to determine the extent of this operation and the individuals involved.