Powder saved dozens of people: a brilliant operation by Ukrainian intelligence.

The Security Service of Ukraine prevented a complex sabotage act by the Russian FSB with the help of a double agent known as Andrey. Working within the ranks of Russian intelligence, he created a mock explosive device filled with flour to catch a Russian agent “red-handed” in the south of the country, intending to place it at the entrance of an administrative building.

According to the British Telegraph, Andrey is a former businessman and billionaire driven by a thirst for revenge after losing all his property twice: first in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, when his hotel was nationalized, and again in 2022, when construction materials from his company were looted following the invasion of his hometown by Russian troops. He joined the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) with the intention of thwarting the Russian plan and gathering intelligence.

The FSB recruits agents for sabotage through social media ads, using methods similar to those of Iranian intelligence. Agents receive up to $5,000 for arson attacks on targets in Ukraine, including Ukrainian special services bases. Other ads offer money for painting Nazi or nationalist symbols on walls. Andrey used this scheme to infiltrate the FSB, receiving assignments and luring potential accomplices into traps.

The most dangerous task assigned to Andrey was to create a bomb capable of killing dozens of officials. He received detailed instructions from the FSB on acquiring components for the explosive mixture and bearings to increase destructive power. Under the online monitoring of a Russian intelligence officer, Andrey created a real bomb at home while simultaneously making another identical one filled with flour, without arousing suspicion from his Russian handlers.

After the fake device was completed, Andrey provided the FSB with the coordinates for its “delivery.” A Russian agent was sent to pick up the “package” and was under constant surveillance by the Ukrainians. He was caught while placing the bomb at the entrance of an administrative building before he could activate it.

The detainee turned out to be an unemployed resident of Ternopil, eager to make quick money using Telegram channels. After completing test assignments, including setting fire to railway facilities in Ternopil, he was directed to prepare for a terrorist attack. He now faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property, as SBU investigators reported suspicion of committing sabotage during wartime and attempting a terrorist act.

Andrey noted that FSB officers often act with a distorted perception of Ukrainian reality, as if drawing their impressions from cheap action movies or news on Russian television. He had to use significant persuasion skills to avoid bloodshed, passing the task of activating the explosive device to another while maintaining the trust of his Russian “employers.” He felt moral satisfaction from preventing the death of innocent people.

Russia is trying to create the illusion of resistance within Ukraine by paying residents and spreading propaganda using drones. However, some Ukrainians commit sabotage due to poverty, sympathy for the occupiers, or thoughtlessness, which became evident during the recent wave of explosions that swept administrative buildings across the country in February last year.