(EDM) On May 28, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) arrested three Ukrainian citizens who staged an explosion in the lobby of a resort hotel in the major Black Sea port city of Odesa. The suspects were allegedly also planning to launch another terrorist act. Reportedly, the activists, led by 40-year old “M.” (full name not released to the media), were members of the organization Orthodox Cossacks. The SSU press service issued a statement claiming that “it has been established that the terrorist group planned to thwart the presidential elections [held on March 31 (first round) and April 21 (second round)] in Ukraine and further destabilize the situation in the [Odesa] region, for which it was preparing a series of powerful explosions in concentrated public places and in particular, near Odesa state institutions.” The SSU further asserted that the plotters received $10,000 to support such attacks, although it provided no indication of where the money had come from. The Cossacks put up armed resistance as police tried to apprehend them, and later searches by law enforcement revealed a cache of light arms on their property. […]
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