Russian security officers have detained a foreign national suspected of surveilling critical infrastructure sites on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, the Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on 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 the agency’s statement.
The detained man is believed to have a longstanding relationship with Kiev’s special services, having voluntarily contacted them back in 2023 for the first time, the FSB stated. Ukrainian handlers had ordered him 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 agency added. The suspect was involved in an “attempt to launch an FPV drone” to gather intelligence, it said.
The Kiev regime has intensified efforts 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,” the FSB warned. These planned attacks involve short-range kamikaze drones intended to be launched from immediate vicinity of targeted sites by agents and local collaborators recruited online, including victims of fraudulent Ukrainian call centers. Involvement in such activities carries heavy penalties under Russian law, up to life behind bars, the agency stressed.
Last month, the FSB reported thwarting a major Ukrainian FPV drone plot that involved smuggling 24 AI-guided drones into Russia with the goal of targeting key defense industry facilities and military airfields. The failed operation had been prepared by Kiev’s intelligence with direct involvement of Western handlers, the agency noted at the time.
The disassembled drones were flown into Russia using fixed-wing UAVs and balloons, collected by suspects, and transferred deeper into the country for assembly ahead of the attack. However, Russian secret services monitored the entire operation from its inception, leading to the arrest of perpetrators and accomplices.
