Series of Unwitting ‘Suicide’ Bombings Rock Ukraine’s Recruitment Centers – SBU

A series of bombings reportedly carried out by unsuspecting suicide bombers struck Ukrainian military recruitment centers in the first days of February.

At a time when the tactics employed under Ukraine’s recruitment system have been under increasing scrutiny, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) blamed Russia for the latest string of attacks.

According to the SBU, some attacks were carried out by unsuspecting agents who planted improvised explosive devices (IED) for financial reward, with their handlers setting off the bombs remotely as they laid them, blowing them up in the process.

The latest attack was in western Ukraine’s Kamianets-Podilsky on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at around 1 p.m. close to a territorial recruitment center (TRC). Preliminary reports said one person died and four were injured. The circumstances of the explosion are under investigation.

The attack followed another similar attack in Pavlohrad in central Ukraine on Sunday that injured a 24-year-old soldier, and another in western Ukraine’s Rivne the day before that killed the suspect in the process while injuring eight soldiers.

The SBU also reported a similar attempt in Rivne on Monday.

On Wednesday, the SBU published preliminary reports attributing the attacks to Russia’s security services.

Feb. 1 Rivne bombing

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In a press release on Wednesday, the SBU said Saturday’s Rivne attack was carried out by an unsuspecting 21-year-old man from central Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region who was tasked by “a representative of the Russian secret services” to plant the bomb then deliberately killed him in the process.

The SBU said the suspect who “was looking for quick money on Telegram channels,” was tasked by an unnamed Russian agent to carry an IED to Rivne and set it off inside the TRC building.

However, the SBU said the man was given a decoy initiator. The Russian handler, having visual confirmed the man had entered the premises using the camera on his phone, triggered the IED and killed the suspect as soon as he entered.

“It was established that the explosive device was equipped with a mobile phone, to which the Russian special services had remote access. The defendant was holding another ‘remote control’ gadget in his hands when he entered the TRC building,” the press release says.

Feb. 2 Pavlohrad bombing

In another press release on Wednesday, the SBU said it detained all agents involved in the attack, which consisted of three men aged 21 and 22. They were not killed during the attack.

All three were recruited “remotely by representatives of Russian intelligence services, offering money in exchange for cooperation,” the press release says.

One suspect, from Pavlohrad, made the IED with stuffed nuts and nails to maximize damages with instructions from his handler. The two suspects, traveling from the Odesa region, picked up the IED and placed it near a TRC building, which was then set off by the Russian agent remotely via a mobile phone.

The SBU said Russia “tried to discredit the activities of the TRC and disrupt mobilization in the region, sowing distrust among citizens towards military personnel” through such attacks.

The three suspects were arrested in their apartments and charged with committing a terrorist act. All three face 12 years in prison and confiscation of property if convicted.

Recruitment officer shot

On the same day as the Rivne attack, a shooting took place in Ukraine’s central Poltava region where a recruitment officer was shot at a gas station while escorting a conscript.

During the incident, an unidentified man wearing a gray balaclava and pixelated camouflage pants approached the officer, threatened him with a hunting rifle, and demanded his weapon. The officer refused and was shot, after which the assailant and the conscript fled the scene with the officer’s weapon. Both were arrested within hours of the incident.

The motive of the attack remains unclear.

Conscription and military recruitment have become a bone of contention within Ukrainian society, with authorities seeking to replenish the ranks of the armed forces – 160,000 according to the goal for 2024 – while the recruitment drive, headed by the TRCs, has received criticism for their harsh tactics.

Kyiv Post interviewed Ukrainian residents regarding their views on Ukraine’s recruitment drive in 2024; their comments can be seen here.