Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday that its agents shot and killed a man who opened fire on them as they tried to arrest him on suspicion of planning bomb attacks in the central Kaluga region.
The FSB said the 49-year-old man, who was not identified by name, shot at officers during the arrest attempt and was killed by return fire. It said the man was originally from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
State media aired video footage from the scene of the shootout showing a body lying in a snowy wooded area, alongside what the FSB said was a bag containing explosives.
The FSB claimed the man, acting on orders from Ukraine, prepared up to 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of explosives and incendiary devices for bomb attacks.
It also alleged that Ukrainian intelligence services had provided him with 300 grams (10.5 ounces) of “foreign-made” plastic explosives, two electric detonators, as well as a pistol and ammunition.
According to the FSB, the man was planning to set off explosions at a gas storage facility and the parking lot of a defense manufacturer. It did not identify the alleged targets.
Investigators are treating the incident as an act of attempted terrorism.
FSB officers have killed at least 74 people during attempted arrests since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to a tally by the investigative outlet IStories.
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