Russia claims Ukraine-linked bomb plot foiled, German woman arrested

Russia’s FSB accused the woman, found with a bomb in her backpack, of taking part in a plot hatched by Ukraine.Russian authorities say they have thwarted a Ukraine-linked bomb plot against security services and arrested a German woman found with a makeshift bomb in her backpack.Russia’s FSB security agency said the unnamed woman was detained on Monday in the southern city of Pyatigorsk.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Sent to be killed’: How Russia forces migrants to fight in Ukrainelist 2 of 3Bulgaria election: Ex-President Radev secures landslide victorylist 3 of 3China’s Xi meets Russian FM Lavrov, calls relations with Moscow ‘precious’end of listIn a statement cited by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, the FSB said it had “prevented a terrorist attack planned by the Kyiv regime against a law enforcement facility in the Stavropol region, involving a German citizen born in 1969”.It said the woman had been recruited by a citizen from a Central Asian country, who was working on orders from Ukraine. That man was found and arrested near the targeted site.According to the FSB, the device contained an explosive charge equivalent to 1.5kg (3 pounds) of TNT and was intended to be detonated remotely. The agency said the blast was ultimately prevented by electronic jamming.Video of the purported arrest published by Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency showed armed Russian security agents approach the woman as she was face down in a car park.Another video showed masked plainclothes agents pulling a man into a station, followed by a controlled explosion of the backpack.Russia’s previous allegationsRussia has arrested dozens of people throughout the four-year war, mostly its own citizens, on allegations of working for Ukraine to carry out sabotage attacks.Russia has previously accused Ukraine of working with Islamic fundamentalists to carry out attacks inside Russia, without providing evidence.