Agents engaged the group in a firefight while they were trying to enter Bryansk Region, Russia’s Security Service (FSB) says
Several Ukrainian saboteurs were intercepted on Sunday while trying to infiltrate Russia, according to the FSB security service. Four members of the group were killed in a firefight, the agency said.
The FSB said the Ukrainians were armed with submachine guns produced by the German firm SIG Sauer, and had “communication and navigation equipment and means for conducting acts of sabotage and terrorism.” The group had four improvised explosive devices with a combined yield equivalent to 40 kg of TNT, the statement added.
© FSB
The agency released graphic footage purportedly from the scene of the firefight. It showed several apparently dead bodies in winter camouflage, with weapons lying on or next to them. At least some of the fighters were armed with carbines rather than SMGs, according to the video.
The Bryansk Region is one of several in Russia operating under a ‘yellow’ terrorist threat alert, the second-highest on Russia’s three-level color scale, due to its proximity to Ukraine.
READ MORE: Bridge in Russian border region hit in ‘sabotage attack’ – authorities
Since November, eight federal subjects of Russia, including the Bryansk Region, have been living under special law enforcement conditions, which grant their leaders additional authority. For example, they can restrict access to the provinces they govern or order forced evacuation from places that they deem unsafe.
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