(Reuters) – Russian investigators on Thursday said the FSB security service had shot dead a 38-year-old Russian man as he made preparations to blow up an energy facility in the oil-rich Tyumen region.
The FSB security service said an unspecified number of Russian citizens had been preparing to commit an act of terrorism “at the request of representatives of Ukrainian paramilitary groups”, an allegation it has levelled more and more frequently in recent weeks.
The Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, published video footage of officers using metal detectors in a field near a wooded area and said a man had shot at and tried to kill FSB officers.
“He did not respond to warnings. The attacker was killed by return fire,” the Committee said.
Fires and explosions have occurred at a number of Russian energy, railway and military facilities since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Self-styled partisan groups opposed to the war have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.
Ukraine hardly ever publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia.
The FSB detained a man on Wednesday accused of planning to destroy an energy facility on Sakhalin island, off Russia’s Pacific coast.
(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
