"On Saturday, an improvised explosive device was found in the Artillery Bay area of the city by law enforcement officials. On Saturday bomb squad workers worked to disarm the object."
On Saturday afternoon, a section Sevastopol's Artillery Bay area was closed for four hours by security organs. Police, Federal Security Service and Ministry of Emergency Situations personnel cordoned off the area after finding a suspicious bag.
The police and FSB have yet to confirm whether the package posed any threat to the lives of residents.
Crimean officials have every reason to be extra vigilant amid constant threats of violence from extremist nationalist organizations in Ukraine; moreover, a series of explosions have rocked cities in southern and eastern Ukraine over the past month. In the past year, Crimean security officials have discovered a series of IEDs, most of them targeting Crimean officials. These included two bombs at the office of Crimean Prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya. Commenting on the potential IED found over the weekend, Crimean Deputy Governor Alexei Eremeyev noted that "the trend is positive, if law enforcement authorities continue to identify such objects."
