Ukrainian mother ‘duped’ into delivering bomb which exploded killing her and soldier | World | News
A young mother was apparently duped into delivering a bomb to a group of Ukrainian soldiers in the city Mykolaiv which then exploded, killing herself and a soldier, and injuring six others.
Ukrainian authorities believe she was likely tricked into delivering a parcel by Russian operatives, who promised her a significant cash reward.
This chilling tactic is believed to be part of a wider Russian strategy, in which unsuspecting civilians are manipulated into carrying out deadly attacks without their knowledge.
The explosion, which was caught on camera, marks the third such fatal incident in recent weeks.
She is thought to have had the bomb in her grocery bag.
Dressed in a red coat and black hat, the woman, from the Poltava region, had left her small child at a hotel.
Authorities believe she fell victim to a scam, lured by promises of easy money to deliver a package to Ukrainian soldiers.
Her identity has not been revealed, and the condition of the wounded remains unclear.
Initial reports from Russian pro-war media sought to label her as a suicide bomber with a grudge against Ukrainian army recruiters.
However, Ukrainian experts have strongly disputed this narrative, suggesting she was merely a pawn in a broader operation orchestrated by Russian intelligence.
The Nikolaevsky Vanyok Telegram channel, which has issued warnings about social media scams offering money for parcel deliveries, condemned the attack as part of a deliberate Russian tactic.
The channel stated: “What was at the bottom of her bag, she most likely did not know, but there was an explosive device.
“The Russians specially arranged it so that this woman, possibly quite innocent, was simply minced.”
This attack is likely to raise further concerns about Russia’s use of such covert operations, particularly with tensions escalating following Donald Trump’s announcement of potential peace talks with Moscow.
The continuation of such grisly tactics, involving manipulated civilians and assassinations, adds another layer of complexity to the already fraught situation.
Ukrainian police have launched a criminal investigation into the explosion and the fatalities, as the country continues to grapple with the increasing use of such covert methods by Russian operatives.
