A man has been detained in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug on suspicion of preparing an explosion at an oil facility. TASS reported this, citing the Tyumen Region branch of the FSB. A court has already ordered that he be held in pre-trial detention.
According to investigators, the suspect was acting on instructions from Ukrainian special services. Security officials say he first made contact with an alleged intelligence representative through a messenger app and then passed on information about the location of fuel and energy facilities in the region.
The FSB said the man was detained while trying to flee after visiting a cache. According to the agency, shortly before that he had retrieved an improvised explosive device from the hiding place, which officers believe he intended to use for a “sabotage-terrorist act” at an oil enterprise in Nyagan.
The device reportedly consisted of a foreign-made explosive substance weighing 1.5 kilograms, a delay timer, and an electric detonator. The security service also said mobile phones were seized from the suspect, containing correspondence with a person investigators describe as his handler.
Video released by the FSB appears to show the man picking up a package in a wooded strip before being detained. During an on-camera interrogation, he says the arrest took place “in the Tyumen area.”
A criminal case has been opened against him on charges of preparing a terrorist act and illegal possession of explosives. The report does not provide independent confirmation of the version presented by the security service.