SBU Foils Russian Terror Plot in Kyiv: Woman Caught Planting Bombs in Café Under False Flag

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that it prevented a terrorist attack in central Kyiv on Wednesday evening, July 23.

Law enforcement officers detained a woman who was attempting to plant two improvised explosive devices in one of the city’s coffee shops.

The explosives had an approximate yield of 1.5 kilograms in TNT equivalent. According to the SBU, Russian intelligence services planned to remotely detonate the devices during rush hour to cause as many casualties as possible.

“SBU operatives uncovered the enemy’s plan and caught the suspect red-handed as she entered the café with IEDs hidden in her bag,” the SBU press service reported, adding, “According to the investigation, the attack was commissioned by Russia and carried out by a Kyiv resident who had been recruited by the occupiers to commit a terrorist act under a ‘false flag.’ The woman was convinced she was supposedly fulfilling an assignment from the SBU.”

The SBU documented that the woman had received the geolocation of the intended attack site from her Russian handler. A mobile phone was seized from her possession, containing evidence of her ties to the Russians. Investigators are currently determining how she obtained the explosives and are working to legally qualify her actions.

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“The SBU emphasizes: Security Service representatives do not recruit people by phone, do not suggest committing unlawful acts, and do not issue questionable assignments. The SBU acts strictly within the framework of current Ukrainian legislation,” the agency added.

If you receive suspicious offers or are contacted by unknown individuals claiming to be SBU employees, immediately report it to the SBU hotline: 0 800 501 482.

Moscow continues to systematically recruit Ukrainians for terrorist attacks, sabotage, and other subversive activities within Ukraine. A wide range of methods are used – from psychological manipulation and blackmail to financial incentives or deception through false claims of “assignments from Ukrainian intelligence.”