MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has arrested one of its own sailors over an alleged plot to carry out a “terrorist attack” against a warship in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the FSB security service said on Thursday.
It said the alleged plot was directed against “a ship…armed with high-precision weapons”. The Black Sea Fleet is headquartered in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The suspect had been “recruited by a Ukrainian intelligence service” and was caught with two home-made bombs, the FSB said in a statement. He was also suspected of passing state secrets to Ukraine.
Russia has previously brought lesser charges, such as desertion, against some of its own servicemen. But the accusations against the sailor – which include possible charges of terrorism, treason, divulging state secrets and illegally possessing explosives, were of exceptional gravity.
The statement gave no further details and it was not possible to independently verify the incident.
Separately, state media quoted the FSB earlier on Thursday as saying two alleged agents for Ukrainian intelligence had been sentenced by a Russian court to 15 years each in a harsh-regime penal colony for espionage.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Andrew Osborn)
