SBU says Russian "terror" group thwarted, seven arrested
By RFE/RL
KYIV -- Ukrainian authorities say they have arrested seven people they claim were sent by Russian security services to carry out political killings and other "terrorist" acts, including the slaying of Ukrainian intelligence agents.
Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) cheif Vasyl Hrytsak made the announcement on April 17, four days ahead of Ukraine's presidential runoff vote.
At a news conference, Hrytsak said the SBU thwarted "a sabotage and reconnaissance terrorist group of the Russian special services" that consisted of seven people, all of whom have been arrested.
One person who assisted the group was arrested on April 17, he said, but it was not clear if that was in addition to the other seven.
Russia seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and has given crucial backing to militants who hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in a war that has killed some 13,000 people since April 2014.
Hrytsak alleged that since early 2017, the Russian security services had sent several "autonomously operating" sabotage groups into parts of Ukraine including the separatist-held section of the Donetsk region.
He said these groups were responsible for attacks including a car bombing that killed Ukrainian military intelligence officer Maksim Shapoval in June 2017 and one that missed its apparent target but killed the person who planted explosives under a vehicle in Kyiv earlier this month.
There was no immediate comment from Russian officials on Hrytsak's statement. (w/Christopher Miller in Kyiv, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, UNIAN, and Ukrayinska Pravda)