17 February 2026
(PHOTO: SBU)
Officers of the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police detained a man suspected of organizing a terrorist attack ordered by the Russian Federation in Odesa on February 16.
This was reported by the SBU press service.
According to the case file, the offender made a homemade bomb and planted it under the bottom of an SUV parked at the entrance of an apartment building. As a result of the explosion, the owner of the vehicle, who was nearby, was injured.
According to the investigation, the terrorist attack was prepared by a 33-year-old unemployed man recruited by the enemy, who came to the attention of racists while looking for "easy money" on Telegram channels.
After the recruitment, the agent received detailed instructions from a Russian curator on how to make an improved explosive device (IED) from improved means. The suspect purchased components for the bomb in hardware stores. Then he made explosives from them, which he equipped with a mobile phone for remote detonation.
Subsequently, the suspect, according to the investigation, conducted additional reconnaissance at the site of the planned terrorist attack, planted an IED under the car and installed a camouflaged smartphone nearby. With its help, the occupants monitored the situation around the target and carried out a remote detonation. During the search of the detainee's residence, the SBU seized components for making IEDs and smartphones, which he used to contact his Russian curator.
The detainee is in custody. He faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. A Toyota car exploded on the morning of February 16 on Akademika Korolyova Street in Odesa.
On February 14, police investigators in Odesa opened proceedings over a death threat and illegal handling of weapons found in the car of a city businessman. The incident occurred on Pedagogichna Street. The businessman himself reported to the police about the explosives he found in his car. The police arrived at the scene and found a hand grenade fuse in the car's exhaust pipe.
On February 6, an explosion occurred in Odesa near a residential building on Akademika Korolyova Street. The driver of the car was killed. The Security Service, together with the National Police, took comprehensive measures to establish all the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved. The incident was classified as a terrorist attack. One of the versions is the possible involvement of the deceased in the manufacture of explosives that detonated due to careless handling. He could have been planning a terrorist attack ordered by Russian special services.
Law enforcement officers have not ruled out that the deceased was involved in the arson attack on three military vehicles in Odesa ordered by representatives of enemy special services. The videos were posted in a pro-Russian public disguised as Ukrainian resistance. After that, he received another assignment.
Кирило Бойко