MOSCOW. May 25 (Interfax) - The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported the detention of members of a Ukrainian sabotage group, who plotted to blow up more than 30 power transmission towers of the Leningrad and Kalinin Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), which could have caused a shutdown of their nuclear reactors.
"A sabotage and terrorist group of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine undertook an attempt to blow up more than 30 transmission towers of high-voltage power lines of the Leningrad and Kalinin Nuclear Power Plants on the eve of the 78th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Under the Ukrainian special services' plot, that would have caused a shutdown of the nuclear reactors, a disruption to the routine operations of the NPPs and would have delivered a serious economic and reputational blow to the Russian Federation," the FSB press center told reporters on Thursday.
The group of saboteurs managed to blow up one power transmission tower of the Leningrad NPP, mine four others, and plant explosives under seven transmission towers of the Kalinin NPP, the FSB said.
The Russian special service has identified the detained members of the sabotage and terrorist group as "citizens of Ukraine Alexander Maistruk, born in 1978, also known as Mechanic, and Eduard Usatenko, born in 1974 , also known as Max." "Citizen of Russia and Ukraine Yury Kishchak, born in 1963, also known as YuBK, who is currently in Belgium, has been declared wanted," it said.
Two Russian citizens were identified and detained for "helping the aforementioned persons by providing them with communication equipment and vehicles with fake registration plates," the FSB said.
The men were recruited by Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service officer Lieut. Col. Vitaly Gorbatyuk in September 2022, it said.
The group members "received special training at camps located in the Kiev and Nikolayev regions of Ukraine," the FSB said.
"For the purpose of staging acts of sabotage, they illegally crossed the Russia-Belarus border in the Pskov region, where they arrived from Ukrainian territory via Poland and Belarus," it said.
"In order to smuggle explosives, Ukrainian special services used an international cargo transport route from Chelm (Poland) to Salcininkai (Lithuania) and then via Belarus to the Rzhev district in the Tver region of Russia," the FSB said.
The explosives and weapons were transported by the group's members in a truck trailer, where caches were set up, it said.
A total of 36.5 kilograms of C-4 plastic explosives, 61 foreign-made electric detonators, 38 electronic timers, and two Makarov pistols with cartridges were seized from the saboteurs' caches.
A criminal case has been opened against the members of the sabotage and terrorist group on charges of sabotage and illegal procurement, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, shipping and possession of explosives or explosive devices, the FSB said.
The men face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. They have been remanded in custody.
The detainees "have admitted to collaboration with the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine with the aim of plotting and staging acts of sabotage in Russian territory," it said.