On September 8, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) reported the prevention of an alleged sabotage. The operation was conducted jointly with the DIICOT prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and foreign intelligence services. According to Romanian authorities, the suspect is Ivan Kutsenko, a 40-year-old citizen of Russia residing in Romania. The intelligence service had been monitoring him since February 2026. ### What he was filming The investigation claims that from February to July, the man identified and studied objects of military interest, and then photographed and filmed them. He focused on Romanian and multinational military bases in Bucharest, as well as in the counties of Cluj, Constanța, Călărași, and Ilfov. Additionally, he collected information about communication centers, critical infrastructure facilities, and the movement of military personnel and equipment. SRI specifically notes that the man photographed Ukrainian cargo planes, Antonov, located in Romania. According to the prosecutor's office, the collected photographs and information were transmitted to a person with whom he maintained contact through encrypted messengers. ### Romanian intelligence speaks of a Russian trace SRI claims that the scheme resembles methods identified in other European countries, where alleged perpetrators of sabotage were coordinated by structures linked to Russia. The Romanian intelligence service believes that Russia continues to recruit individuals from vulnerable social groups for such operations. It is the actions of the intelligence services and cooperation with foreign partners, as SRI claims, that allowed for the prevention of the transition from information gathering to sabotage. At the same time, the published materials do not disclose which specific object was intended to be attacked, by what means, and at what stage the preparation for the sabotage was. This is an important clarification: the collection of information about military and strategic objects has been officially confirmed, while the detailed scenario of the alleged attack has not yet been made public by the authorities. ### Court sent the suspect to custody On the evening of September 8, the Bucharest Court of Appeals granted the prosecutor's request and placed Ivan Kutsenko under preliminary arrest for 30 days. He is charged with attempted sabotage actions. Romanian law enforcement emphasizes that the investigation is ongoing, and the suspect enjoys the presumption of innocence until the verdict comes into force. Russia has repeatedly rejected accusations from European countries of organizing sabotage. At the time of publication, the Russian embassy in Bucharest had not commented on the new accusations.
