Russian law enforcement has foiled a Ukrainian “terrorist attack” in southern Rostov Region, after police detained a teen who attempted to bring a homemade explosive device into a city administration building, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has said. It added that the girl had apparently been targeted by online scammers.

In a statement on Thursday, the FSB said police stopped the 16-year-old student in central Volgodonsk after officers became suspicious of her large backpack. Bomb disposal specialists later confirmed that it contained an improvised explosive device with a yield roughly equivalent to 10 kg of TNT, the agency said. The device was packed with screws, nuts and nails intended as shrapnel and fitted with an electronic timing mechanism.

The student told investigators she had collected the backpack from a hidden stash on the outskirts of Volgodonsk, the FSB said. The agency added that her testimony indicated she had been duped by online scammers about a month earlier and narrowly avoided becoming a “suicide bomber.”

The FSB also released a video of the demining operation, showing an officer in a heavy blast-resistant suit approaching the backpack placed on a city square and then detonating it from a safe distance.

The agency stated the planned “terrorist attack” had been prepared by the “security services of the Kiev regime,” adding that it was foiled due to heightened counter-terrorism measures.
Earlier this week, the agency warned that Kiev was increasingly relying on phone scam operations to recruit Russian citizens, mainly teenagers and the elderly, to carry out terrorist acts.

Ukraine has on numerous occasions attempted to carry out terrorist attacks inside Russia, including plots targeting government officials, military commanders and opinion leaders, as well as sabotage operations against critical infrastructure.

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