They tried to smuggle bombs into Russia in icons: how many of them are there, how the FSB found the explosives

The FSB stopped the import of a large consignment of explosives in church utensils and Orthodox icons from Ukraine. The explosives were seized in the Pskov region.

27 homemade bombs were hidden in the icons. According to law enforcement agencies, the smuggling channel from Ukraine went through the countries of the European Union (EU). The total weight was about 70 kilograms of industrial plastic.

The route was laid through several countries: Ukraine – Romania – Hungary – Slovakia – Poland – Lithuania – Latvia – Russia. The person involved in the crime was detained.

The purpose of importing explosives was Moscow; the power would be enough to blow up a five-story building

Later, the FSB reported that during interrogation the detainee admitted that the explosives hidden in the icons were to be delivered to Moscow.

According to the head of the ECC department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the region, Dmitry Belotserkovsky, the power of the seized explosives is enough to blow up a five-story building. He clarified that the icons contained hexogen, the power of which is one and a half times greater than TNT.

The FSB showed a video of the seizure of icons with explosives. In the footage released, security forces take boxes of Orthodox utensils out of the car, unseal icons and show that they are stuffed with explosives. Also found there were 91 electric detonators and parts of an RPG-7 shot.

At the end of March, Belarus also reported that employees of the country’s State Security Committee (KGB) had carried out three special operations in areas bordering Ukraine since the beginning of 2024. The security forces found out that agents of the Ukrainian special services, including citizens of Belarus, “moved explosives across the southern borders, equipped hiding places, so that others recruited by Kiev would then detonate.”

The Russian Orthodox Church called the organizers of the import of explosives in icons atheists

Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media Vakhtang Kipshidze condemned actions of criminals and called them atheists.

In his opinion, this “is beyond good and evil.” He also thanked the Border Patrol for their vigilance and saving lives.

In March, security forces stopped the arms supply channel to Bashkiria

On March 27, it became known that law enforcement officers managed to stop the arms supply channel to Bashkiria. As a result, three manufacturers were detained as part of a “test purchase”.

Security forces contacted a 46-year-old resident of Ufa, who sold them three pistols and ammunition. The examination showed that the purchased weapons and ammunition were homemade and could fire. The seller was detained.

A homemade pen-gun was also found on him, which was sent for examination. Together with him, two residents of the Kirov region were detained, who were also involved in the manufacture of firearms. A criminal case has been initiated on three counts under Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, forwarding or carrying of weapons, main parts of firearms, ammunition”).

In addition, in March in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), special forces of the Russian Guard found a cache of aircraft missiles, ammunition and a foreign-made grenade launcher. Five unguided aircraft missiles, shots for a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher with powder charges, presumably a Czech RPG-7 grenade launcher, hand grenades with fuses and small arms ammunition were seized. A few days earlier, in the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), a cache of ammunition from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) was found in a flooded pit.

There they found 6,000 rounds of small arms ammunition, 25 hand grenades, 40 rounds for a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher, 8 grenades for the Polish RGP-40 hand-held revolver grenade launcher and an MRO-A small-sized rocket-propelled flamethrower.