Eight Arrested in Bashkortostan for Attempted Mobile Network Sabotage Scheme

On Monday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the arrest of eight individuals from the Bashkortostan region due to an alleged scheme to disrupt mobile phone infrastructure, as reported by state media.

The FSB claimed that a resident of Salavat had reached out to an unnamed individual via Telegram with the intent to earn money. This person allegedly instructed him to set fire to local cell towers and damage fiber-optic cables.

The “client” specified the target sites and required the suspect to provide video evidence of the sabotage, although the FSB did not present any supporting evidence for these claims.

According to the intelligence agency, the individual then purportedly recruited another person, who subsequently enlisted six others to help execute the alleged plan.

The FSB reported that all eight were apprehended while attempting to inflict damage on the telecommunications equipment.

A video released by the state news agency TASS, provided by the FSB, showed the eight alleged conspirators in a courtroom with their faces obscured. At least one individual appeared to be a young woman.

In contrast to previous videos released by the FSB, this footage did not feature on-camera admissions from those arrested, leaving their guilt or innocence uncertain. The brief clip depicted an FSB officer leading the group out of a courthouse and into an unmarked vehicle.

Authorities have initiated a criminal investigation into the attempted sabotage, a charge that could result in life imprisonment. The inquiry is still in progress.