Ukraine has accused Russian intelligence agents of orchestrating a series of bombings targeting military conscription offices, with the latest attack on Wednesday resulting in one death and four injuries at a draft office in the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of the country.
The explosion is the latest in a string of attacks on conscription facilities, including the recent shooting of a conscription officer at a petrol station last week. National police chief Ivan Vyhivskyi described the attacks as deliberate actions by Russian special services aimed at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine and creating a negative perception of the country’s security and defense forces.
Vyhivskyi explained that the most recent incident involved a man who approached a draft office checkpoint with a bag and asked to deliver a package. He confirmed that, since the beginning of the year, Russia had organized nine attacks, including three targeting police officers. Vyhivskyi also revealed that Russian intelligence agents were reportedly recruiting young men or individuals with low social standing to carry out these attacks in exchange for monetary compensation. However, he noted that in many cases, the recruited individuals were not paid and, in some instances, were killed after carrying out the attacks.
Ukraine’s domestic security agency provided further details on a similar attack last Saturday in the northwestern city of Rivne. A young man, recruited by Russian intelligence officers, was killed when a bomb he brought into the draft office was detonated remotely, injuring eight Ukrainian servicemen.
The series of incidents has prompted Ukraine’s army chief to condemn the attacks and call for the perpetrators to be held accountable.
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