A bus carrying an entire Ukrainian Armed Forces unit was targeted for bombing in Rivne
The suspected student was detained at the bus station and taken into custody
Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) prevented the bombing of a bus carrying Ukrainian service members in Rivne. According to investigators, Russian intelligence services were preparing the terrorist attack, targeting an entire unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that was due to travel to its permanent deployment site.
A student from one of the universities in Kyiv was detained in connection with the case. He is suspected of working for Russian intelligence services and attempting to blow up a bus carrying military personnel. According to the investigation, the student was looking for quick money in themed Telegram channels. Russian intelligence operatives noticed him there, recruited him and sent him to Rivne to prepare the attack.
After arriving in the city, the suspect moved into a rented apartment. Investigators established that his Russian handler gave him the coordinates of a stash containing an improvised explosive device. The student retrieved it and planted it under a bus used to transport Ukrainian service members. The explosive was also reinforced with two glass bottles filled with flammable liquid.
Across from where the bus was parked, the suspect allegedly set up a remotely accessible camera, disguising it as a juice box. Russian intelligence services planned to use it to monitor the servicemembers boarding the bus and choose the right moment to blow it up while it was moving.
The plot was uncovered before the explosion, and the device was defused. The suspect was detained at the city bus station: after planting the explosives, he tried to leave Rivne and travel to Kyiv. During his arrest, officers seized his smartphone, which he allegedly used to report to the Russian side that the device had been planted.
The student was notified that he is suspected under Part 2 of Article 15 and Part 2 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — attempted terrorist act. He is being held in custody without the right to bail. If convicted, he faces up to 12 years in prison, with confiscation of property.
According to available information, this is already the fourth attempt by Russian intelligence services to organize a terrorist attack in Rivne since the beginning of 2026. A series of attacks in a park and near administrative buildings in the city center was also prevented.
The operation was carried out by officers of the SBU in Rivne Oblast. The regional prosecutor’s office provided procedural oversight.
We previously reported:
- SBU detains 16-year-old Russian agent who made explosives for terrorist attack in Khmelnytskyi
- SBU prevents series of terrorist attacks in Izmail: Russian agent arrested with explosives
- SBU detains Russian agent who attempted terrorist attack in Mykolaiv
- SBU foils FSB terrorist attack: Ukrainian soldier was to be blown up on a fake “date”
- Entire crews could have been killed: SBU foils terrorist attack in Mykolaiv planned by 20-year-old FSB agent
