FSB thwarts terrorist attack on leadership of Russia’s telecom watchdog

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Russian law enforcement officers have thwarted a terrorist attack on the leadership of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), plotted by Kiev, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement. "A terrorist attack on the Roskomnadzor leadership was thwarted on April 18. The attackers planned to blow up a car using an explosive device," the statement reads. Seven supporters of far-right neo-Nazi ideas, recruited by Ukrainian intelligence agencies via the Telegram messenger, have been detained in Moscow, Ufa, Novosibirsk and Yaroslavl for preparing the attack. "The group’s leader, a Moscow resident born in 2004, offered armed resistance to law enforcement officers and was killed by return fire," the FSB added. Improvised explosive devices, an F-1 grenade, a silenced Makarov pistol, two gas pistols, walkie-talkies, neo-Nazi and Ukrainian paramilitary paraphernalia, and a manual on how to join a Ukrainian terrorist organization outlawed in Russia were seized from the suspects during searches. Criminal investigations have been launched into the illegal trafficking of arms and explosive devices.