Russian intelligence recruited teenagers for terrorist attack in western Ukraine, SBU claims

Russia's intelligence service blew up two teenagers it had recruited to carry out a terrorist attack in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk on the evening of March 11, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported on March 12.

Explosions were reported near the railway station and in a high-rise building in Ivano-Frankivsk. One person was killed and three other injured, authorities said.

The remote detonation of self-made devices used in Russian intelligence planned attacks is a new tactic of Moscow's in its covert operations against Ukraine, allowing it to carry out attacks while getting rid of perpetrators, Serhii Andrushchenko, SBU's deputy head, previously told the Kyiv Independent.

According to law enforcement, the recruited agents were two teenagers aged 15 and 17 who sought quick money on Telegram channels. Russian intelligence services allegedly recruited them online and offered payment for carrying out a series of terror attacks in the city.

A Russian handler rented an apartment for the teenagers in a high-rise building near the local railway station, the SBU said.

Following Russia's instructions, the two made explosives and two devices disguised as thermoses. They equipped both explosives with remote detonators, according to the SBU.

The teenagers were allegedly heading to a designated location to place one of the explosive devices when the Russian intelligence service activated the explosives in their package. Another explosive was detonated in the rented apartment.

The 17-year-old boy was killed, and the 15-year-old was hospitalized with serious injuries. Two passers-by — a 20-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman — also suffered injuries.

If charged, the 15-year-old could face life imprisonment.

In February, the SBU reported that Russia recruited the attacker responsible for a deadly explosion at a military enlistment office in Rivne.

Russia also recruited minors via social media to set fire to military cars parked in Ukrainian cities, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. Last year, cases of setting fire to military vehicles were recorded in Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro.