Russian Saboteur Detained in Romania, He Was Spying on Ukrainian Aircraft

Romania’s Intelligence Service (SRI) said it prevented a sabotage allegedly planned at the direction of Russian intelligence services.

SRI reported this in a press release.

As part of the operation, authorities detained a Russian citizen residing in Romania.

According to the agency, his Russian handlers tasked him with photographing and filming sites of strategic military interest.

In particular, these include communications facilities and military bases used by NATO allies, defense and national security institutions, and critical infrastructure.

In addition, the detainee had to capture a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft.

On August 4, a drone equipped with explosives and a detonator was found near a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo aircraft in Leipzig. The German government officially accused Russia of being behind the incident.

“The information obtained points to a pattern of activity similar to that of sabotage networks operating across Europe and coordinated by entities based in the Russian Federation,” Romania’s intelligence service noted.

The agency added that the Russian citizen had been under SRI surveillance since February 2026 and was the subject of a large-scale investigation into attempts to organize acts of sabotage in Romania.
Cooperation with international partners also helped prevent the sabotage attempt.

It was recently reported that overnight on September 1, Russian Shahed attack drones struck the Orlivka international ferry border crossing in Ukraine’s Odesa region on the Ukrainian-Romanian border.