A 19-year-old girl was detained in Kharkov, who, at the request of Russian special services, handed over a mined scooter to Ukrainian soldiers under the guise of volunteer aid. As a result of the explosion, one of them died, the other was wounded.
Terrorist attack in Kharkov against Ukrainian military: what is known
According to the investigation, on June 20 at about 2:00 p.m. in a park in the Industrial District of Kharkov, a 26-year-old serviceman died as a result of a scooter explosion, and another serviceman, 29, was seriously injured.
An investigative team of police, bomb disposal experts and forensic experts immediately left for the scene.
Now watching
A homemade explosive device with a capacity of about one kilogram of TNT equivalent was hidden in the trunk.
It was established that the explosives were placed in the scooter by a 19-year-old girl who allegedly wanted to give the vehicle to the military as volunteer assistance.
The explosion occurred just as two Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen approached the scooter.
The suspect in the terrorist attack was detained hot on the trail. It turned out that the girl was recruited by Russians through a Telegram channel for job search.
Following the instructions provided, she made an improvised explosive device at home.
— On the morning of June 20, she came to the park, where she took the keys from the scooter's trunk and left the place. The suspect returned there again after lunch. She opened the scooter's trunk and placed a black backpack there, which contained explosives, — the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
Then, using a camera that was hidden at the site of the planned terrorist attack, Russian special services tracked the arrival of the military and remotely activated the explosives.
Photo: SBU
Photo: SBU
Photo: National Police
During the search, unused components of an explosive device and a telephone with evidence of working for the enemy were confiscated from the perpetrator.
The defendant has been charged under Part 3 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (a terrorist act that resulted in the death of a person). She faces up to 15 years or life imprisonment with or without confiscation of property.
The suspect was taken into custody without the right to bail.
Now law enforcement officers are trying to identify the girl’s possible accomplices.
