Putin’s troops ‘booby-trapped’ beaten dog with bomb in terror bid – but the pooch survived

They hoped to kill civilians who came to help the animal

Russian troops almost beat a dog to death before booby-trapping it with a bomb in the hope of killing Ukrainian civilians. Special forces unit Spetsnaz GRU were operating in the north-west city of Makariv when they came up with the sinister plan. They first severely beat up the pooch until it could barely move, before strapping a bomb to it which they would detonate when civilians came over to help the dog. The special forces have secretly infiltrated Makariv, which is close to Kyiv, with the aim of carrying out a terror campaign against the population. The GRU's dog plan failed though when residents noticed the device strapped to the dog and called bomb disposal experts to rescue him. They have named him Fox and he is recovering from the ordeal. https://twitter.com/Lyla_lilas/status/1543169982682521601 According to one British soldier in the Ukrainian International Brigade, no one knows exactly where the GRU are and they have been disguising themselves as aid workers. Their campaign is based around using Improvised Explosive Devices to kill civilians, causing panic and fear. The idea that Russian special forces are among the population acts as a "big psychological hit" to communities, the Brit told the Daily Mirror.

But a source told the publication that the presence of special forces in towns and cities could he a sign of weakness in the Russian plan.

They said: "This is more evidence the Russian plan is hopefully fractured with the Kremlin now forced to send in undercover soldiers on low level 'terrorist' operations.

"This is what the GRU specialise in, undermining civil confidence in the war effort and inflicting horror rather like a terrorist group would.

"Covert operatives will be behind this, either having done it themselves or having recruited a sympathiser to set the booby-trap."

Fox isn't the first dog to be used in the war. Earlier in the conflict, Ukrainian soldiers rescued a stray puppy who they named Rambo and became their mascot. And another good boi achieved national hero status in Ukraine for his job sniffing out mines. Patron the Jack Russell has helped remove hundreds of explosive devices, earning himself a medal from president Zelensky for his efforts. https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1523411165858222080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1523411165858222080%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Flife%2Fukrainian-mine-sniffing-dog-patron-334558 Related links:

• Ukraine investigating over 21,000 alleged war crimes by Russian forces, prosecutor reveals
• Luka Modric FaceTimes 6-year-old Ukrainian boy who lost parents in Russian invasion
• Goat triggers boobytrap injuring 40 Russian soldiers who had just planted cache of grenades