Russia reports rail sabotage suspects arrested in Crimea

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said A man and his girlfriend were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of trying to blow up a railway line in annexed Crimea on Ukraine’s orders.

The unidentified man and woman were arrested in April near the city of Kerch, where the Russian-built Crimean Bridge connects with the mainland, “as they attempted to plant an explosive device under the railway tracks,” the FSB said . Moscow used the railway running through the bridge to supply its military in Ukraine.

The two were charged with terrorism, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and arms trafficking, punishable by up to 12 years in prison.

The FSB said in a statement that both the man and his girlfriend admitted their guilt and cooperated with investigators.

The arrested man can be seen in a video shared by state media said he had received instructions “where the explosive device should be placed on the tracks.”

The FSB claimed the man was recruited online by Ukrainian military intelligence agency HUR in October. He then allegedly tricked his “roommate” into delivering photos of Russian troops, air defense systems and positions of energy sites to Kiev.

Moscow has blamed Ukraine for a series of fires and derailments on Russia’s rail network since the full-scale invasion began.