Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday that its agents shot and killed two individuals suspected of plotting a drone attack on a petrochemical facility in the Nizhny Novgorod region.A sabotage and terrorist attack planned by Ukrainian special services was prevented in the Nizhny Novgorod region, involving two Central Asian nationals who adhered to the ideology of an international terrorist organization banned in Russia, the state-run TASS news agency quoted the FSB as saying.The law enforcement agency claimed that the two individuals had sought to attack the plant using first-person view (FPV) drones equipped with improvised explosive devices.During their arrest, they opened fire and were neutralized by return fire, the FSB was quoted as saying, adding thatforeign-made explosives, as well as a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a Makarov pistol, were recovered at the scene.The law enforcement agency also claimed to have found messages between the suspects and their alleged Ukrainian handler, along with coordinates for a weapons cache.
Regional investigators launched a criminal investigation into the incident.The Moscow Times could not independently verify the claims.Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian law enforcement authorities have regularly blamed Ukraine for planning sabotage attacks inside the country, though details of these cases are rarely made public.Ukraine has not commented on the FSBs latest claims.