Ubylinka, Pskov Province, Russia, April 3, 2024
Photo: TASS
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and Federal Customs Service discovered and stopped a shipment of explosives coming from Ukraine.
The cargo, which had wound its way from Chernivtsi, Ukraine, through several European countries on its way to Russia, had dozens of kilos of explosives hidden amidst Orthodox icons and Church utensils, reports TASS.
There were enough explosives to blow up a 5-story apartment lock, Department Head of the Interior Ministry’s Regional Forensic Center Dmitry Belotserkovsky said yesterday.
The explosives were attached to the back side of icon frames. FSB agents also found detonators.
According to the truck driver, he received the shipment at a warehouse in Romania, and having found nothing suspicious amongst the icons, he drove the boxes through Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia without incident before hitting the Russian border.
The postal information on the boxes shows Chernivtsi, Ukraine, as the starting point.
Russian authorities have been on high alert since a group of Tajik nationals committed a terrorist act at the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow on March 22. More than 140 people were killed and more than 500 injured in the attack. The perpetrators were captured while trying to flee to Ukraine.
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