News

The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has launched a criminal case against three citizens of the Russian Federation, as well as other individuals, on charges of committing crimes under Part 2 of Article 205.4 of the Criminal Code of the RF (participation in a terrorist organization) and three crimes under Part 1 of Article 30 and clause “a” of Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the RF (preparation for committing a terrorist act).

According to the investigation, no later than January 12, 2023, on the territory of Ukraine, a terrorist organization was formed with the participation of representatives from the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, the Security Service, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This organization included individuals hostile to the political system of the Russian Federation and the ongoing special military operation. The leadership of this organization coordinated the criminal actions of its members and developed plans to commit terrorist acts and other serious crimes.

To achieve their objectives and carry out combat tasks in most effective ways, the organizers of the terrorist organization involved three Russian citizens who were aware of the organization's goals and agreed to participate in its activities. These individuals were responsible for gathering and providing information about the locations of Russian Armed Forces servicemen, as well as various civilian and military infrastructure facilities, including government and municipal institutions. This information was gathered by photographing the objects and by determining and transmitting their coordinates to other members of the terrorist community for the purpose of committing terrorist acts on the territory of the Russian Federation.

For instance, on January 19, 2023, the individuals involved traveled to the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and identified locations in the city of Lugansk where Russian Armed Forces servicemen were concentrated. They took photographs of these locations, determined their coordinates, and sent them to their accomplices via an internet messenger to facilitate terrorist acts at these sites.

In addition, on June 18, 2024, one of the individuals arrived at a railway section in the direction of Adler, Krasnodar Krai, photographed the area, determined its coordinates, and transmitted them to the terrorist organization for the further planning and execution of a terrorist act. However, his activity was disrupted by the Investigative Committee of Russia, in cooperation with the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Moscow and the Moscow Region. The man was detained, and currently, at the request of the investigator, a court has ordered him to be held in custody. All circumstances of the case are being investigated, and other individuals involved in the crimes are being identified, with plans to issue international arrest warrants. The investigation is ongoing.