Russia says Ukrainian intelligence scammed elderly women to coerce them into attacking soldiers

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says Ukrainian intelligence tricked five elderly women out of their life savings and coerced them into preparing attacks on Russian soldiers. The scheme reportedly involved having them deliver disguised explosives that would also have killed the women themselves upon detonation. Here’s what we know about the allegations.

In a statement published on the agency’s website, the FSB alleges that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), military intelligence agency (HUR), and “Ukrainian nationalist groups” contacted the elderly Russian women through Telegram and WhatsApp. They allegedly drained the women’s bank accounts and took the proceeds from the forced sale of their homes.

Posing as officials from Russia’s FSB, the Interior Ministry, the Investigative Committee, and other state agencies, the perpetrators allegedly used “official terminology” and a mix of intimidation tactics to get the women to cooperate. Under “psychological pressure” and hoping to recover their savings, the women were reportedly tasked with monitoring military housing and parking areas, storing explosives, and “directly targeting Russian soldiers.”

“Ukraine’s intelligence services planned for the women to personally deliver improvised explosive devices disguised as everyday items to service members. The detonations would also have killed the couriers themselves, effectively using them as so-called ‘human bombs,’” the FSB said.

The agency said criminal cases have been opened for attempted terrorism and illegal possession of explosives. It did not say whether the women were in custody, though the independent outlet Mediazona notes that video released by the FSB shows officers speaking to the women and two being led away by masked men.