The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has made a startling arrest, detaining a 70-year-old Ukrainian grandmother on charges of plotting a terrorist attack. The case has immediately drawn international concern and accusations of a politically motivated sting.
The suspect, named as Galina Dmitrievna, was apprehended in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol, Ukraine. The FSB alleges she was acting on direct orders from Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) to bomb a critical railway line used for military logistics.
'An Innocent Pensioner': The Family's Desperate Plea
Speaking out from their home in Zaporizhzhia, the woman's family has launched a fierce defence, painting a starkly different picture. They describe her as a peaceful retiree with no political affiliations, whose life revolved around her garden and family.
Her daughter, in an emotional statement, said, "The idea of my mother, a 70-year-old woman with health problems, building a bomb is not just absurd, it is monstrous. She can barely use her mobile phone, let alone handle explosives. This is a fabrication to create the illusion of thwarted terrorism."
A Shadowy Sting Operation
According to the FSB's official release, their operatives posed as accomplices, providing the elderly woman with what they claim was an improvised explosive device. They further allege she was instructed on how to plant the device near the railway tracks.
Security footage released by the FSB appears to show the woman accepting a package and walking near a railway area. However, critics and human rights observers are quick to point out that such evidence can be easily staged in coercive conditions.
The Grim Consequences and Wider Pattern
If convicted on these terrorism charges, the grandmother faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in a harsh Russian penal colony—a virtual life sentence for someone her age.
This case is not isolated. Human rights groups have documented a pattern of similar arrests in occupied Ukrainian territories, often targeting civil servants, teachers, and now even pensioners. These arrests are widely seen as a tool of intimidation and repression against the local population, aiming to crush dissent and create a climate of fear.
The international community, including watchdogs like Amnesty International, is being called upon to scrutinise the case closely. The detention of Galina Dmitrievna has become a poignant symbol of the human cost of the ongoing conflict, raising urgent questions about the treatment of civilians in occupied zones.
