By The Moscow Times | Created at 2024-11-20 09:10:23 | Updated at 2024-11-20 11:43:58
2 hours ago
Russian law enforcement authorities in the Kaliningrad region arrested a German citizen on charges of sabotaging energy facilities, the FSB security service announced Wednesday.
The man, identified as 56-year-old Nikolai Gaiduk, was accused of being involved in a March 2024 explosion at a gas distribution station in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania.
Gaiduk, a resident of Hamburg, was detained at a Kaliningrad border crossing upon returning to the region, allegedly to "organize acts of sabotage on local energy infrastructure," the FSB said in a statement reported by news agencies.
Authorities claimed to have seized half a liter of explosive material concealed in a shampoo bottle inside Gaiduk's car. The FSB alleged that he had received the explosives and instructions for the attack from a Ukrainian citizen living in Hamburg.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian authorities have increasingly charged individuals with crimes such as sabotage, treason and terrorism.
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