Russian security forces have arrested a man and a woman in Bashkiria over an alleged plot to attack a railway in Chelyabinsk Oblast.
The 39-year-old resident and his 20-year-old companion were intercepted while travelling to the target site, according to state news agency TASS. The report cited information provided by the regional directorate of the Federal Security Service, Russia's domestic security agency known as the FSB.
According to security officials, the man entered into correspondence with a representative of a Ukrainian organisation that is banned in the Russian Federation. The handler allegedly tasked him with setting fire to a railway vehicle across the regional border in Chelyabinsk Oblast.
Investigators said the man recruited his 20-year-old acquaintance to assist in the preparations. Security officials stated that both suspects underwent training in the tactics of carrying out a terrorist act before setting out towards their target, but officers detained them before they could reach the location.
Criminal investigation
Russian authorities confirmed that a criminal case has been opened following the arrests. The legal action centres on allegations of preparing a terrorist act aimed at damaging rail transport in Chelyabinsk Oblast.
State media noted that the arrests follow earlier security interventions in other regions. Russian news outlets previously reported that FSB officers had stepped in to stop a resident of Novosibirsk Oblast from committing state treason.
Strategic transport corridor
Bashkiria, officially known as the Republic of Bashkortostan, is situated along the southern edge of the Ural Mountains and the Volga River basin. Its neighbour, Chelyabinsk Oblast, lies directly to the east and forms a major transport hub, linking European Russia to western Siberia through extensive freight and passenger railway networks.
The FSB operates as Russia's principal domestic intelligence and counter-terrorism organisation, succeeding the Soviet KGB and maintaining regional directorates across all federal subjects. Russian federal legislation imposes severe criminal penalties for attempting to sabotage transport infrastructure or collaborating with banned foreign groups, often resulting in lengthy prison sentences in penal colonies.
