The Russian authorities announced Tuesday the arrest of a group of Ukrainian «saboteurs» who were preparing «terrorist attacks» against representatives of the authorities in the Kherson region, annexed to the Eurasian country as part of the invasion launched in February.
«The Federal Security Service of Russia on the territory of the Kherson region has discovered and suppressed the activities of a sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Security Service of Ukraine,» the agency said in a statement.
It detailed that this group had among its tasks «to carry out terrorist acts against high-ranking officials of the military-civil administration of the Kherson region», before confirming the arrest of nine suspects, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.
The agency also said that detonators, homemade explosive devices, grenades, small arms, ammunition and reconnaissance equipment were seized. In addition, a car bomb has been deactivated.
The announcement came a day after the Russian authorities in Kherson announced the end of the «organized evacuation» in the «eastern shore» of the region and stated that the rest of the people who want to leave the area will have to do it by their own means.
Russia completed a first phase of the «evacuation» at the end of October, although a few days later the pro-Russian authorities decided to extend the evacuation perimeter by an additional 15 kilometers. The Ukrainian Army has continued to advance in the region, although it has warned of possible «tricks» by Moscow during the withdrawal.
