On Monday, a Russian court ordered the detention of two men arrested on suspicion of plotting a terror attack during the New Year holidays in St. Petersburg. Russian authorities made the arrests Friday after getting tipped off about the planned attack by the U.S.
“The Federal Security Service (FSB), the main KGB successor agency, said in a statement that the suspects detained on Friday confessed to plotting the attacks. It added that it also seized materials proving their guilt,” ABC News reports. “The FSB didn’t elaborate on their alleged motives or targets, but Russia’s state television reported that the suspects had recorded a video swearing their allegiance to the Islamic State group.”
The FSB says the suspects “intended to carry out terrorist acts in crowded places in St. Petersburg during the New Year holidays,” as reported by the Daily Mail. “Evidence proving preparations for staging the terror attacks has been seized from the detained persons,” the agency said.
Russian officials credited information provided by their “American partners” for the uncovering of the plot and the arrest of the two alleged ISIS terrorists.
The two suspects have been identified as Nikita Semyonov and Georgy Chernyshev. On Monday, a court in St. Petersburg ordered that they should remain in custody until their trial.
Video footage published by the Daily Mail appears to show the dramatic moment that armed FSB agents arrested the two suspects, uncovering what appear to be knives and shotgun shells. “The men appeared to resist arrest but later the FSB said that they had started ‘confessing’ to plotting terrorism attacks,” the outlet reports.
On Tuesday, Trump posted a statement on social media noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin had called him to thank him and the U.S. for helping prevent the attack and celebrating the “important coordination” between the U.S. and Russian intelligence agencies.
“President Putin of Russia called to thank me and the U.S. for informing them of a planned terrorist attack in the very beautiful city of Saint Petersburg,” Trump tweeted. “They were able to quickly apprehend the suspects, with many lives being saved. Great & important coordination!”
President Putin of Russia called to thank me and the U.S. for informing them of a planned terrorist attack in the very beautiful city of Saint Petersburg. They were able to quickly apprehend the suspects, with many lives being saved. Great & important coordination!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
A spokesman for the Kremlin says Putin called Trump Sunday to thank him for intelligence “transmitted through the special services that helped prevent terrorist attacks in Russia,” as reported by ABC. The spokesman pointed to the sharing of the information as “vivid proof of the efficiency” of the two countries’ counter-terrorism coordination.
“The Kremlin said Putin passed on his gratitude to Trump for the tip from US special services during a phone call on Sunday. It gave no further details,” The Guardian reports, noting: “Diplomatic ties between Washington and Moscow are fraught over disagreements concerning Ukraine and Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the US presidential election, but Trump and Putin have kept personal lines of communication open.”
The White House has since confirmed the Kremlin’s report on the call between the two leaders; Trump first addressed the call about the foiled plot in his tweet Tuesday.
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