SBU tells how many underage Ukrainians were recruited by Russian special services to commit terrorist attacks
2 April 19:56
22% of Ukrainians who were recruited by Russian special services to commit terrorist attacks or sabotage were minors.
This was reported by the spokesman for the Security Service of Ukraine, Artem Dekhtyarenko, on Radio Liberty, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to him, young people are more easily manipulated by psychological manipulation because they “are not able to fully assess the consequences of their actions.”
Dekhtyarenko noted that Russian special services recruit unemployed and previously convicted people to fulfill their tasks – 55% and 7% respectively. People with various types of addictions are also recruited: drug, alcohol, gambling, etc.
The SBU spokesperson also said that the youngest executors of Russian orders who were caught setting fire to Ukrzaliznytsia relay cabinets were 13-year-olds. The oldest was a 52-year-old man who tried to plant explosives in Dnipro.
What is known about terrorist attacks in Ukraine
Recently, law enforcement officials reported that they had prevented a number of terrorist attacks in different regions of Ukraine, which are usually prepared on the orders of Russian special services.
Since the beginning of the year, a total of 26 criminal cases have been opened in Ukraine under the article on terrorist acts. The involvement of 10 teenagers in six terrorist acts was established. law enforcement prevented 12 terrorist attacks.
However, in some cities, people still managed to carry out planned terrorist attacks. For example, on February 14, an unknown object exploded near a catering establishment in Mykolaiv. The explosion killed three soldiers of the Mine Action Center and injured others.
Subsequently, the SBU detained four underage boys from Poltava region who had manufactured the explosives. They handed this “parcel” to a woman who agreed to deliver it to Mykolaiv for money, not realizing that it contained explosives.
On the evening of March 11, several explosions occurred near the train station in Ivano-Frankivsk. A 17-year-old boy died as a result. Another 15-year-old teenager was hospitalized with serious injuries and has already been notified of being suspected.
As the SBU found out, the Russian FSB was behind the explosions: the occupiers recruited two teenagers who were looking for “part-time work” on the Internet via Telegram.
In addition to them, two other people were injured – a 20-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman.
Where to go if someone is trying to recruit you?
To counteract the recruitment of Ukrainians, the SBU has previously launched an official chatbot called “Burn the FSB” on Telegram. It, like the SBU hotline, can be used to report suspicious contacts from Russian special services. It has already received almost 2,300 reports of recruitment attempts.
