FSB Detains Man Accused of Planning Attack on Military Enlistment Office

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced Wednesday that it had detained a man suspected of preparing an arson attack on a military enlistment office in the central Kaluga region. According to the FSB, the attack was allegedly carried out on orders from Ukraine.

In a video released by Russian state media, the 22-year-old suspect, whose face was blurred, said that an officer from Ukraine's military intelligence service had offered him money to commit a series of crimes. He said he was first instructed to put up graffiti discrediting the Russian government and then to burn down the enlistment office. The man added that he had been in contact with his handler for roughly a year before his arrest.

Investigators said they seized several containers of flammable liquid and electronic devices containing chat logs between the suspect and his handler. An FSB officer featured in the video explained that foreign handlers often start with simple tasks, such as collecting open-source information and monitoring local events, before assigning more serious attacks.

The suspect now faces charges of planning an act of terrorism, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.