The FSB directorate in Crimea said it had detained a 44-year-old resident of the settlement of Sovetskoye over comments posted on Telegram. RIA Novosti and Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported the announcement, citing the security service.
According to the FSB, the man published messages calling on Russians to leave the peninsula. A criminal case was opened against him on charges of public calls for extremism. He is also being checked under the article on justification of terrorism.
The FSB further claims that the detainee called for the killing of Russian military personnel and for the destruction of enlistment offices and Yunarmiya facilities. In a video released by the agency, the man says he had previously posted “comments with a negative attitude” in Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels.
“I wrote that Crimea is Ukraine. I wrote: ‘Russians, leave Crimea,’” he says in the FSB video.
In its press release, the agency also stressed that during the search officers found symbols and paraphernalia of Ukraine and the United States. Judging by the FSB footage, these included the flags of both countries, a pin with the Ukrainian coat of arms, a figurine with the head of politician Yulia Tymoshenko, a decorative mace, a ribbon bearing the word Ukraine, and other similar items.
The video of the detention and search was distributed by the FSB directorate for Crimea and Sevastopol.