Teen bombers in Ukraine: recruited, used, and eliminated by Russian special services

Summary

Russian special services recruited two Ukrainian teenagers, aged 15 and 17, to carry out suicide bomb attacks in Ivano-Frankivsk, promising $1,700.

The teens unknowingly transported homemade explosives disguised as thermoses, which Russian handlers detonated remotely, killing one and seriously injuring the other. The blast also injured two passersby.

A second explosion occurred at the teens’ rented apartment.

Ukrainian authorities charged the surviving teen with terrorism-related crimes and warned of a new Russian tactic of exploiting and eliminating operatives to cover tracks.