Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on November 5 that it had detained a 48-year-old man from the Tosno district of Leningrad region on suspicion of preparing an act of sabotage on a railway. A court ordered him held in pretrial detention, according to the FSB.
The FSB cited two provisions of Russia's Criminal Code: Article 222.1, Part 3, concerning the unlawful handling of explosives or explosive devices, and Article 30, Part 3, in conjunction with Article 281, Part 1, concerning attempted sabotage. Pretrial detention does not constitute a finding of guilt.
According to the FSB's account, the man was recruited in 2024 and subsequently gathered information about military facilities and gas stations. The agency alleges that he was preparing the suspected act of sabotage on the instructions of a handler in Ukraine.
The FSB also said it had seized correspondence and a homemade device that it claimed contained five kilograms of explosives. The agency said the detainee had admitted guilt.