Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has thwarted a suicide bombing involving a woman recruited by Ukrainian intelligence agencies in the borderline Belgorod Reigon, the FSB said in a statement.

"It has been established that telephone scammers persuaded a local woman to transfer her money to the so-called safe account. After that, she was contacted by unknown individuals who identified themselves as officers of Russian law enforcement agencies and persuaded her to take part in an alleged operation to detain the criminals in order to recover the stolen money," the statement reads, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.

She was instructed to retrieve an explosive device from a cache, bring it to a crowded place, and activate it. The blast would have killed numerous civilians, including the woman.

However, the woman decided to contact the regional FSB branch, so effective measures were taken to prevent the crime. The explosive device was defused; a search is underway for those who plotted the terrorist attack and their accomplices.