A case of sabotage was initiated after the explosion of a power line pylon in the Leningrad Region

The investigative service of the Federal Security Service of Russia for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region opened a criminal case on sabotage and illegal trafficking in explosive devices, said the governor of the region Alexander Drozdenko. Earlier, the authorities of the region reported that a power line support was blown up in the Gatchina region at night.

“On the fact of blowing up a power line pylon in the territory of the Susaninsky settlement of the Gatchinsky district, the Investigative Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region initiated a criminal case under Art. 281 (sabotage), 222.1 (illicit trafficking in explosive devices) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation”, – wrote Drozdenko in his Telegram channel.

In the Gatchinsky district of the Leningrad region on Monday night, a power transmission line pole was blown up, an explosive device was found on the second pole, the governor said on the morning of May 1. He noted that the incident did not disrupt the power supply of settlements and civilian infrastructure. Later, Drozdenko said that the threat of undermining the second pillar of the power line was eliminated by explosives: they removed and cleared the charge with a fuse.

In the last message, he indicated that FSB investigators, together with experts, were conducting a detailed examination of the scene. A complex of operational-search measures to identify criminals is carried out by the operational services of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, coordinated by the prosecutor’s office, he added.