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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Pjotr Sauer in Bucha

From brutal occupation to brazen recruitment: Russia turns Bucha residents against their own

Rubbish and debris strewn across the tarmac at the front of an apartment building in Bucha as people look on nearby
A recent bomb attack on the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, offers a glimpse into the shadowy work of Russian intelligence services. Photograph: Kyiv police

On a recent evening in March, Bohdan Tymchenko, a quiet and unassuming man from Bucha, logged on to his computer to play the popular video game World of Tanks. Less than two weeks later, he planted two bombs outside his flat.

What unfolded in the intervening days offers a stark glimpse into a growing pattern: Ukrainians drawn in online by Russian intelligence services, promised money or coerced into carrying out sabotage attacks against their own country.

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