SIMFEROPOL. Sept 23 (Interfax) - A Ukrainian citizen has been arrested in Crimea; the Russian security service accuses him of an attempt at destabilizing the situation in the region, the press service of the Federal Security Service branch for the Russian internal republic of Crimea and Sevastopol said on Tuesday.
"A Ukrainian citizen, born in 1998, who arrived to the Republic of Crimea to search for accomplices seeking the destabilization of the public and political situation in the region was arrested. In September 2020, the Ukrainian has spread in Crimean populated localities leaflets, which contained the calls to undertaking actions, which seek violating Russia's territorial integrity, and after that he was detained by operatives of the FSB local branch on September 19," the statement said.
"The leaflets with extremist content, as well as communication devices, which were used for illegal activity, were discovered and seized" at the place of stay of the foreigner, the security service said.
The investigative department of the FSB local branch launched a criminal inquiry on the charge of public calls to carrying out extremist activity.
Simferopol's Kyivsky District Court handed down a measure of restraint in the form of arrest to the Ukrainian citizen.
A Russian citizen, born in 1992, who "is implicated in public justification and propaganda of terrorism and extremism" was detained on September 21, the press service for the FSB local branch said.
"An Evpatoria resident, using his personal account on the social network, sharing and supporting the activity of Ukrainian nationalistic groups, has posted materials containing threats to blow up administrative buildings in the Republic of Crimea. This person is also involved in spreading leaflets propagating extremism," the FSB local branch said.
"Parts of explosive devices, objects looking like firearms and munitions, leaflets with extremism content, as well as other objects indicating illegal activity were found and seized" from the arrestee, the FSB local department said.
Criminal cases were opened against him on charges of public calls to pursuing terrorist activity, public justification of terrorism, or the propaganda of terrorism, public calls to carrying out extremist activity, and public calls to undertaking actions seeking violating Russia's territorial integrity. The court ruled to arrest the man.
"Operative and investigative activity is ongoing to uncover possible accomplices of illegal activity," the statement said.
Crimea, which remained an autonomous republic within independent Ukraine after the Soviet Union's breakup in 1991, became part of Russia following government change in Ukraine and a local referendum in 2014. Ukraine has not recognized its results and considers the peninsula "its territory temporarily occupied by Russia." European Union countries and the United States qualified Russia's actions as "illegal annexation" and imposed sanctions on a number of companies, policymakers, and businesspeople. Russia has said the subject of Crimea is closed forever, and the peninsula belongs to it.