Ukraine arrests pro-Kremlin activist it says was saboteur working for Russia
Ukraine has detained a young Russian activist on suspicion of organising sabotage during pro-Kremlin protests in which she is alleged to have shot and wounded several people.
Ukraine has detained a young Russian activist on suspicion of organising sabotage during pro-Kremlin protests in which she is alleged to have shot and wounded several people.
Ukraine's SBU security service said on Wednesday that Maria Koleda, 22, had been arrested in southern Ukraine "while carrying out a mission from the [Russian] secret services to destabilise the situation".
When arrested, Koleda was carrying written instructions on how to train sabotage groups, as well as a non-lethal pistol that had been adapted to fire live ammunition, the SBU said.
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Local media reported that several people were shot during clashes on Monday outside government offices in the southern city of Mykolayiv between pro-Russians and supporters of the new authorities in Kiev.
During the incident, Koleda "used firearms and in her own words wounded three", the security service said.
The USB went on to say that Koleda had told her Russian "spymaster" that her fighters had an "unlimited supply" of home-made explosives.
The USB said Koleda was sending a 13-person sabotage team to the eastern city of Donetsk, where pro-Kremlin protesters took over government offices over the weekend and declared independence.