Security Service of Ukraine: Subversive reconnaissance group planning terrorist acts against ethnic and religious minorities detained in Odesa
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a subversive reconnaissance group consisting of five people in Odesa yesterday. They are charged with planning terrorist acts on the territory of Kherson region. “They planned to assault a penitentiary establishment using grenade launchers. Moreover, the group intended to commit terrorist acts and spread propaganda against ethnic and religious minorities residing in Kherson region,” informed Oleksandr Tkachuk, chief of staff of the head of the Security Service of Ukraine. According to him, this subversive reconnaissance group was trained by Russian special services and coordinated from the territory controlled by self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’. Grenade launchers, anti-personnel mines, explosives and fire arms were seized from them during search, informs Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
SBU also arrested 12 members of extensive militants’ informant net functioning on the territory of Luhansk region. Moreover, SBU managed to identify two coordinators from among militants of self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’. “[The detained] fulfilled tasks regarding collecting information on proceeding of military hardware, location of military objects and functioning of state authorities on the territory of Luhansk region controlled by Ukraine,” explained Tkachuk.
According to the SBU representative, a former chief of Vinnytsia police Anton Shevtsov was detained in Chernihiv region yesterday, on the border with Belarus, while attempting to cross the state border. An airplane ticket Minsk-Moscow was found on him. He is charged with treason at present. Nevertheless, Tkachuk presumes that Shevtsov’s actions may be additionally determined as crime or the charges changed as the investigation progresses. Shevtsov is in Vinnytsia at present.
