Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested former workers of the national defence industry for allegedly providing Ukraine with secret documents.
The agency issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that several Russian nationals were acting as agents of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence.
“They were suspected of “transferring technical documentation and samples of military products used in the production of weapons and military equipment” being used by the Russian Air Force,” Russia Today quoted FSB as saying.
The FSB accused the unnamed ex-workers of spying for Ukrainian military intelligence and of handing over technical documents and models used in the manufacture of weapons systems and equipment for Russia’s Air Force.
It said in a statement that the same group was also involved in plans to blow up railway lines in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions which are used to supply Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.
The FSB said it had opened criminal cases into the ex-workers on charges of committing state treason and preparing acts of sabotage.
“The suspects have been detained and are making confessions,” the FSB said.
“Plastic explosives with a total mass of more than 4 kg, four detonators, military design documentation and goods used for military purposes, as well as $150,000, have been seized,” it said.
More than four kilograms of explosives, four detonators, design documentation, and several military-related items were confiscated during the operation, the FSB said.
Amid the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, in recent months Russia’s security services have ramped up efforts to neutralize Ukrainian agents seeking to gather intel on Moscow’s military facilities or stage sabotage attacks.
With inputs from agencies
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