World · 19 d ago
A.Savin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Russia detains a Swedish man it accuses of planning sabotage for Ukraine
Pskov region
Western Russia
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it detained the 35-year-old in the Pskov region, near Latvia and Belarus, after he illegally crossed the border. It says he came on the pretext of joining the Russian army, to attack military facilities.
The FSB says the man served under contract as a Ukrainian drone unit commander from February to June. In a video the FSB released, a man who said he was from Stockholm said he had come to use FPV drones for attacks and sabotage.
What we know
- Charged with illegal border crossing
- Sweden says it is not involved for now
Not yet
- Whether terrorism charges will follow
- No comment yet from Ukraine
He faces a criminal case for illegally crossing the border, and the FSB says terrorism and mercenary charges are under consideration. Sweden's Foreign Ministry said it was aware of the reports but was not currently involved in the case.
Background
Two days earlier, on Oct 13, the FSB said it had detained a Japanese journalist in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on espionage charges. Japan's prime minister denied that Tokyo spies in Russia.
