The Russian Federal Security Service added that measures to launch criminal cases were currently underway
Russia’s law enforcement and security services conducted a sweeping operation to ferret out and detain members of the Columbine movement (recognized as terrorist by Russia’s Supreme Court) and a Ukrainian extremist gang, the press office of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced to TASS in a statement on Tuesday.
The search and investigative measures during the operation were held by the FSB jointly with the Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee of Russia, according to the statement.
"Operative search and investigative measures were held in 46 regions of the Russian Federation with regards to 187 Russian nationals, who were subscribers of Internet groups, which promoted the ideology of mass murder and were administered by moderators of the terrorist movement ‘Columbine’ and the Ukrainian radical gang ‘Maniacs. Cult of Killers’ [MKM]," the statement reads.
"We confiscated from 30 of them bladed weapons, means of communication, terrorist and extremist materials, correspondence with Ukrainian enthusiasts of mass murder and members of the nationalistic armed formations, as well as pictures and video recordings of the so-called direct-impact acts," the statement reads.
"Also confiscated were instructions on how to carry them out [direct-impact acts] with the use of improvised explosive and incendiary devices against the infrastructure of governmental, educational and transportation facilities in Russia," according to FSB.
The Russian Federal Security Service added that measures to launch criminal cases were currently underway.