Russia’s security service detains a teenager planning a ‘terror attack’ after a US tip-off

A suspect allegedly planning a terror attack on a major Moscow museum was arrested by Russian authorities after a tip-off from the United States, Russia’s security agency FSB announced on Sunday.

The FSB said information shared with Russia by US law enforcement led to the arrest of the Russian citizen who is a minor. The agency said it was “grateful to the US side for the information provided.”

The arrest came after the US Embassy in Moscow issued a security alert on Saturday, warning it was “aware of a credible threat of a mass casualty event” at the Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve in Moscow.

CNN contacted the museum after the alert was issued and was told the institution was not aware of any warnings. However, several events scheduled to take place at the venue were later canceled and security measures were put in place, according to Russian state media.

The unnamed suspect was detained after posting images on TikTok of himself wearing tactical clothing and an “object resembling an automatic weapon” and sharing photos taken at the Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve with the caption: “I found a place,” according to the FSB.

The FSB said the teenager subscribed to a neo-Nazi channel on Telegram and made “significant number of search queries regarding past terrorist acts, mass murders, and other violent acts.” It said airsoft weapons were found at the suspect’s home.

It is not unusual for the US to share security warnings with other countries — the State Department has a long-standing “duty to warn” policy and is obligated to let US expat communities know of any threats.

The alert issued on Saturday said the US government was “coordinating with appropriate Russian authorities on a response.”

However, Russia has not always received US warnings with thanks. In March 2024, during the Biden administration era, the US embassy in Moscow warned that ISIS militants were determined to target Russia, specifically saying there were “imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow,” including at concerts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed that warning as a provocation. Days later, assailants stormed Moscow’s Crocus City Hall venue and killed more than 140 people. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

Putin’s reaction was different in 2017, during US President Donald Trump’s first presidency, when the US warned Moscow about a planned terror attack at the Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg. According to a Kremlin statement, Putin personally thanked Trump for the information, saying it was enough to locate and detain the suspects.

The latest warning and the FSB’s public statement thanking the US, comes at a time of an increased scrutiny of the Trump administration’s relationship with Russia.

Trump has made significant concessions to Russia on sanctions in recent weeks, which have triggered criticism on both sides of the aisle in Washington and driven a wedge between the US and its Western allies.

CNN’s Daria Tarasova-Markina, Jennifer Hansler, Zahra Ullah and Darya Tarasova contributed reporting.

俄罗斯联邦安全局（FSB）周日宣布，一名涉嫌策划袭击莫斯科一家主要博物馆的嫌疑人被俄罗斯当局逮捕，此前美国提供了线索。

俄罗斯联邦安全局表示，美国执法部门与俄罗斯分享的信息促成了这名未成年俄罗斯公民的被捕。该机构表示“感谢美方提供的信息”。

此次逮捕行动是在美国驻莫斯科大使馆周六发布安全警报之后进行的，该警报警告称，美国“意识到莫斯科察里津诺博物馆保护区存在大规模伤亡事件的可信威胁”。

警报发布后，CNN联系了博物馆，被告知该机构此前并不知晓任何警告。然而，据俄罗斯国家媒体报道，原定在该场馆举行的几项活动随后被取消，并采取了安保措施。

据俄罗斯联邦安全局称，这名身份不明的嫌疑人在TikTok上发布了自己身穿战术服装和“类似自动武器的物体”的照片，并分享了在察里津诺博物馆保护区拍摄的照片，配文为“我找到了一个地方”，随后被拘留。

俄罗斯联邦安全局称，这名青少年订阅了一个Telegram上的新纳粹频道，并“大量搜索了有关以往恐怖袭击、大规模谋杀和其他暴力行为的信息”。该机构还表示，在嫌疑人家中发现了气枪。

美国向其他国家发布安全警告并不罕见——美国国务院长期以来奉行“警告义务”政策，有义务让美国侨民社区了解任何威胁。

周六发布的警报称，美国政府正在“与俄罗斯有关当局协调应对措施”。

然而，俄罗斯并非总是对美国的警告表示感谢。2024年3月，在拜登政府执政期间，美国驻莫斯科大使馆警告称，ISIS武装分子决心袭击俄罗斯，并特别指出他们“即将袭击莫斯科的大型集会”，包括音乐会。

俄罗斯总统普京驳斥了这一警告，称其为挑衅。几天后，袭击者闯入莫斯科克罗库斯市政厅，造成140多人死亡。伊斯兰国声称对此次袭击负责。

2017年，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普首次就任总统期间，普京的反应截然不同。当时，美国就圣彼得堡喀山大教堂可能遭受恐怖袭击一事向莫斯科发出警告。据克里姆林宫声明，普京亲自感谢特朗普提供的信息，并表示这些信息足以定位并逮捕嫌疑人。

俄罗斯联邦安全局发出最新警告并发表公开声明感谢美国之际，正值外界对特朗普政府与俄罗斯的关系进行日益严格的审查之时。

最近几周，特朗普在对俄制裁问题上做出了重大让步，这引发了华盛顿两党人士的批评，并在美国与其西方盟友之间造成了隔阂。

美国有线电视新闻网 (CNN) 的达莉亚·塔拉索瓦-马基纳 (Daria Tarasova-Markina)、詹妮弗·汉斯勒 (Jennifer Hansler)、扎赫拉·乌拉 (Zahra Ullah) 和达莉亚·塔拉索娃 (Darya Tarasova) 也参与了报道。