Russia has claimed that Ukrainian intelligence services planned a series of terrorist attacks targeting Russian Defense Ministry personnel and officials assisting the front line. According to the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) – the successor to the KGB – Ukrainian intelligence intended to send bombs disguised as gift perfume sets via mail.
Kyiv Post reached out to its sources within Ukrainian intelligence services. They denied any involvement and stated that “They (the Russians) are lying. They always lie.”
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The Russian FSB claimed that five parcels containing improvised explosive devices were discovered at Chelyabinsk airport. These devices were designed to detonate upon opening. The intended recipients were not specified in the FSB’s statement. Explosives experts reportedly arrived at the scene and neutralized the bombs.
Additionally, according to the agency, four more similar parcels were found in a stash in Chelyabinsk – allegedly meant to be sent to military personnel in the Tver, Rostov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kaluga regions.
The FSB stated that a 22-year-old Russian man was arrested in Pervouralsk, Sverdlovsk region, on suspicion of sending the explosive parcels. The FSB claimed he was acting on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, having retrieved the explosives from stashes in Chelyabinsk.
The parcels were reportedly addressed to military personnel and government officials in Moscow, Voronezh, Krasnodar Krai, and Saratov region. The FSB also claimed that after completing the task, the man lost contact with his Ukrainian handlers and never received a promised $6,000 payment.
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In a video released by the FSB, the detained man stated that he met a person named Anton from Ukraine online. Initially, Anton allegedly asked him to collect information about Russian military airbases in Engels and employees of a military factory in Yekaterinburg.
Later, the Russian man was instructed to locate stashes in Chelyabinsk, where, according to him, parcels containing perfumes were hidden.
The FSB announced that a criminal case had been initiated under the article on illegal possession of weapons and explosive devices. The Russian intelligence agency also stated that it is searching for individuals who manufactured and concealed the explosive devices.
Although Ukrainian intelligence didn’t claim credit for the alleged explosive perfumes, it has not shied away from claiming credit for past deliveries targeting Russia’s military.
We didn’t send you the exploding perfumes, but we did send the exploding goggles – HUR
As Kyiv Post previously reported, a batch of “Skyzone Cobra X v4” goggles, used to control first-person view (FPV) drones, were sent to Russian military units in early February. They contained improvised explosive device (IEDs) designed to function when the equipment was in use.
Following reports by pro-Kremlin milbloggers that several Russian drone operators had been injured while using the goggles when the hidden IEDs functioned, a source from Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) informed Kyiv Post on Feb. 20 that it had, in fact, carried out that particular operation.
During January and early February around 80 sets of the FPV goggles had been sent through several different Russian volunteer groups to various Russian armed forces drone units. HUR concealed around 15 grams (half an ounce) of plastic explosive, a detonator and a battery inside the equipment’s casing near a cooling fan which sits close to the user’s temple.
Between Feb. 4 and Feb. 7 at least eight Russian drone pilots were seriously injured, possibly blinded, after the bombs inside the goggles detonated while they were wearing them.
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