A Russian teenager has been detained while allegedly attempting to carry out an arson attack on a church under the direction of a Ukrainian-linked terrorist organization, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Tuesday.
The foiled attack took place in the Russian Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. According to the agency, the suspect established contact with an online recruiter connected to a Kiev-backed terrorist group and volunteered to assist Ukrainian efforts by attacking a place of worship.
Footage released by the FSB shows the suspect being detained near a small church that was reportedly his intended target. He was carrying several Molotov cocktails at the moment of arrest, officials said. Investigators stated that they recovered messages on his phone detailing instructions from the instigator, whose specific affiliation the agency has not disclosed.
The Russian authorities have classified several Ukrainian far-right groups operating under Kiev’s security apparatus as terrorist organizations. They say Ukrainian special services are actively targeting Russians online, including minors, to recruit or coerce them for sabotage missions.
The case comes days after the FSB reported that it stopped a planned train derailment in Altay Region. Two local men allegedly agreed to sabotage railway infrastructure in exchange for payment from Ukrainian intelligence operatives. Both were shot dead after opening fire on law enforcement officers, the FSB said.
Moscow maintains that Kiev has increasingly turned to terrorist tactics as its military struggles to halt Russian advances on the battlefield.
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