On April 22, 2025, in Rostov-on-Don, FSB officers detained a 15-year-old schoolboy suspected of making an improvised explosive device (IED) on behalf of the Ukrainian special services. According to the Telegram channel "Baza", the teenager, provisionally named Zhenya, was recruited via the Internet and was assembling explosives in his apartment on Sorge Street. A search revealed explosives, striking elements, and a glass jar that the schoolboy planned to use as a bomb casing. The incident was yet another case of minors being involved in sabotage activities, which is causing alarm in Russian law enforcement agencies.

As Baza reports, Zhenya came to the attention of security forces after corresponding with representatives of the Ukrainian special services, presumably associated with the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) or the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). According to investigators, the teenager received instructions on how to make an IED and began synthesizing explosives from available chemical reagents. During a search of his apartment on Sorge Street, located in the Western residential area of ​​Rostov, operatives found homemade explosives, as well as striking elements that could enhance the destructive effect. The schoolboy planned to use a glass jar as a body, which indicates the makeshift, but potentially dangerous nature of the device.

The detention took place several days ago, and on April 22, the teenager was officially arrested. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case under articles related to the preparation of a terrorist act (Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and the illegal manufacture of explosives (Article 223.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The schoolboy confessed, confirming that he acted on the instructions of foreign curators. His motives have not yet been clarified, but experts suggest that recruitment could have been carried out through social networks or messengers such as Telegram, where teenagers are attracted by promises of money or ideological indoctrination.

This case fits into an alarming trend of involving minors in terrorist activities. As reported by the DON24.RU website on December 30, 2024, Ukrainian special services are actively recruiting Russian teenagers, pushing them to commit sabotage, including arson and making explosives. In December 2024, three teenagers were detained in Rostov, suspected of setting fire to an electric locomotive for a promised reward of 150 thousand rubles, which was never paid. A similar case occurred in Donetsk on April 13, 2025, when the FSB prevented a terrorist attack at School No. 14, which was being prepared by a student who was a member of the banned Columbine movement.