The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, reported on July 10 that it foiled a plot backed by Russian intelligence services to establish a separatist Odesa People’s Republic, modeled on the illegal separatist movements in Donetsk and Luhansk.
On July 9, the SBU arrested two alleged co-planners of the conspiracy, Alexander Yakimenko, a citizen of the Russian Federation, and Yuriy Trofimov, a Ukrainian citizen.
But it was Russian special services that spearheaded and funded the network of some 50 conspirators in Odessa Oblast, according to an SBU press release.
The group allegedly planned terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure, government officials and foreign nationals in the largely Russian-speaking Odessa region.
“The provocateurs meant to incite artificial conflict between inhabitants of the [Odessa] Oblast,” according to the press release.
The SBU also reported that it confiscated military-grade weapons, ammunition and intelligence from the group, including topographical maps marked with military deployment routes and strategic facilities in the region.
The investigation into the conspiracy is ongoing.
Photo and story source: http://www.sbu.gov.ua/sbu/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=128734&cat_id=39574
