A "combat group" operating under Russian orders has been neutralized while preparing "a violent seizure of power in Odesa," Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) said on Sept. 23.
In a post on Telegram, the SBU said the group had originally planned to seize administrative buildings and state institutions in the city at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It said that once Moscow's invasion faltered, the group was instead instructed by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) to lie low and await further instructions.
It was then reactivated over the summer but was exposed by the SBU shortly after.
The SBU said the leader of the group — a 49-year-old man who previously lived in Crimea and moved to Odesa after Russia's illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014 — and his "right-hand man" had been detained.
It said during the operation it had discovered "70 firearms with optical sights and ammunition, as well as body armor, helmets, ballistic goggles and other tactical equipment."
According to the SBU, the leader of the group had managed to recruit "more than two dozen" people.
"Currently, all of them are under investigation, and comprehensive measures are underway to bring them to justice for crimes against Ukraine," the SBU added.
If found guilty they face up to 10 years in prison.
Kateryna Denisova
