The SSU and the National Police have apprehended two minors who were involved by russian intelligence in criminal activities against Ukraine.

On 8 and 9 December 2024, carrying out the tasks of the occupiers, these individuals detonated explosive devices near police stations in Slobidskyi and Kholodnohirskyi districts of Kharkiv. No one was injured as a result of the explosions.

The SSU Counterintelligence caught both perpetrators in hot pursuit: 15-year-old boy and girl, residents of Kharkiv. The russians recruited them through Telegram channels where they were looking for ‘easy’ money.

It was established that the teenagers acted separately from each other, and each carried out their terrorist attack, but on the instructions from the same handler from russia.

To carry out his task, the young man manufactured explosives himself. For this purpose, he was provided with detailed instructions, which included filling the device with metal balls and installing a detonator for remote activation.

The girl took the ready-to-use explosives from a cache.

Then, each of them independently disguised the IEDs in plastic bags and left them in garbage containers near the police stations.

They also covertly installed mobile phones near these buildings, which were used by the enemy to remotely detonate and record the consequences of the explosions on video.

Through such attacks, the aggressor hoped to sow panic and undermine the socio-political situation in the region.

SSU investigators notified the detainees of suspicion under Article 258.2 of the CCU (terrorist act).

Despite the young age of the suspects, they face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property for committing a particularly serious crime.

The operation was carried out by the SSU Kharkiv Office jointly with the National Police under the procedural supervision of Kharkiv Region Prosecutor’s Office.