Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in Krasnodar Krai said on April 18 that it detained a Belarusian citizen accused of gathering intelligence and planning a terrorist act on behalf of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), according to an official statement.
In a video released by Russian state-run RIA Novosti, the detainee, whose identity was not disclosed and whose face was blurred in the footage, said he was born in 2000 and is a citizen of Belarus.
The detainee claimed to have been recruited online in December 2024 to collect information about Russia's Black Sea Fleet and Armed Forces' deployment in Krasnodar Krai and carry out attacks.
The FSB alleges that he retrieved a 2.5-kilogram improvised explosive device from a hiding place under orders from a handler, and was planning to bomb an administrative building in Novorossiysk.
In the video, the man recites a script in which he says the attack was orchestrated by Ukrainian security services "to disrupt negotiations between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine" and escalate the conflict.
Russian authorities opened a criminal case against him on charges of preparing to commit a terrorist act. Ukraine has not commented on the claims.
This is not the first such case reported by Russia. In December 2023, a Belarusian national was detained in Omsk and accused of blowing up two trains on the Baikal-Amur Mainline in Buryatia.
Russia's security services, particularly the FSB, have a long-documented history of extracting confessions through coercion, intimidation, and even torture.
Human rights groups and former detainees have consistently raised concerns about fabricated charges and forced statements.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
