Grooming children for terror: Inside Ukraine’s teen recruitment machine (VIDEO)
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has dismantled a neo-Nazi cell that was plotting to assassinate officials from the country’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor. The suspects, some of whom were minors, were allegedly directed by Ukrainian intelligence to prepare car bombs and gather personal data on the agency’s top brass.
The ringleader was killed in a shootout, and investigators seized weapons, grenades, homemade explosives, and neo-Nazi imagery from the hideouts. A total of seven group members were apprehended in raids across multiple Russian cities.
The suspects testified that they were gathering and sharing personal information about Roskomnadzor head Andrey Lipov and his deputies and discussed ways to attack their cars.
The FSB alleged that the network was targeting Roskomnadzor officials over the agency’s role in restricting the use of foreign-based apps, particularly the Telegram messenger service.
Among the suspects are several minors, who have regularly been the target of recruitment efforts by Ukrainian intelligence services in recent years using grooming and blackmail, often through the Telegram messenger.
RT correspondent Murad Gazdiev has compiled a full report on the investigation, Ukraine’s continued recruitment activities, and Russia’s efforts to get Telegram to take action against destructive content on its platform.
Watch the full report below.
