A BUSTED Russian spy-ring was allegedly plotting arson, murder and sabotage on railway lines taking weapons to Ukraine.
Moscow’s GRU spooks recruited cash-strapped agents, including Ukrainian refugees, investigators claim.
Moscow’s GRU spooks recruited cash-strapped agents to plot arson, murder, and sabotage on railway lines taking weapons to UkraineAP
Tasks ranged from fly-posting propaganda to plotting a hit job in Poland, the Washington Post reported.
Some posed as tourists to monitor ships in Poland, where about 80 per cent of donated Western weapons arrived.
Others hid trackers in deadly cargos bound for Ukraine.
The alleged agents — 12 were Ukraine refugees while one was a Russian athlete — were mostly driven by money, officials said.
A plot to derail a train carrying weapons including tanks was uncovered when a camera was seen in leaves by the track.
Polish spies swooped and the first suspects were identified via phone mast data and call records.
Officials said it smacked of desperation after more than 400 Russian spies were expelled across Europe in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The GRU used classified job ads and the Telegram messaging app to find agents, it was alleged.
They paid £10 to fly-post propaganda and offered a few hundred to carry out arson or murder, but those attacks never took place.
It came as UK police said five Bulgarian nationals, aged 29 to 45, had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia.