Russia detains Ukrainian man for plot to sabotage Crimea power line, FSB says

Russian security services have detained a Ukrainian citizen on suspicion of planning to “sabotage” a power line in Crimea, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday.

The FSB said a man in his 40s had been found carrying diagrams of power lines, three explosive devices and instructions on how to use them, and suspected the man had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) was not immediately available to comment.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine over eight months ago, Moscow has repeatedly accused what it calls Ukrainian “saboteurs” of targeting its energy infrastructure, including in August when it blamed Ukraine for damaging an electricity substation in Russian-annexed Crimea.

Ukraine did not claim involvement but officials have welcomed previous incidents, calling them “payback” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.