Russian authorities have announced the arrest of a German woman allegedly caught with a homemade explosive device in what they claim was a planned attack targeting a security services facility in southern Russia.

According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the woman, born in 1969, was detained in the Caucasus city of Pyatigorsk with an improvised explosive device in her backpack. The agency alleged the plot was connected to Ukrainian operatives.

The FSB claimed the device contained an explosive charge equivalent to 1.5 kilograms of TNT and was intended to be detonated remotely. It further alleged that the attack was aimed at a law enforcement facility in the Stavropol region and would have also endangered the woman herself.

Authorities also said a man born in 1997 from an unidentified Central Asian country was arrested near the targeted location. He was described as a supporter of radical ideology and allegedly involved in the operation.

Both suspects now face terrorism-related charges that could carry life imprisonment if convicted.

The FSB stated that the woman was recruited into the alleged plot by the Central Asian man, who it said was acting under instructions linked to Ukraine.

Footage released by Russian state media reportedly shows armed security officers detaining the woman in a car park, as well as masked agents arresting a man inside a station. Another clip shows a controlled explosion of a backpack believed to contain the device.

There has been no immediate response from either Kyiv or Berlin regarding the allegations.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has arrested numerous individuals, mostly its own citizens, on accusations of sabotage or collaboration with Ukrainian intelligence. Western nationals have also occasionally been detained, often on espionage charges that their home countries have disputed.

Moscow has in past cases accused Ukraine of involvement in attacks inside Russia, including linking it to groups responsible for major incidents, claims which Kyiv has consistently denied and which have not been independently verified.