Teen arrested on way to airport to fight for Russia after plot to sabotage US energy stations

Andrew Takhistov, 18, of East Brunswick, New Jersey, was detained on his way to the airport on Wednesday

Fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps attend a presentation for the media in northern Ukraine, not far from the Russian border, on May 24, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

A New Jersey teenager, who allegedly sought to sabotage energy stations in the US, was arrested on his way to Ukraine to fight for the Russian Volunteer Corps.

Andrew Takhistov, 18, of East Brunswick, New Jersey, was detained on his way to the airport on Wednesday and made his initial court appearance on Thursday, according to the US Justice Department.

Takhistov was arrested on charges of recruiting an individual to destroy an electrical substation in the United States in order to advance his white supremacist ideology. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $125,000 fine.

According to court documents, in January, Takhistov began communicating on a social messaging platform with an individual who, unbeknownst to him, was an undercover law enforcement employee.

Takhistov had previously posted on the messaging platform requesting advice about weapons, disseminating manuals on how to construct homemade weapons, and expressing interest in traveling overseas to engage in paramilitary-style training.

Andrew Takhistov, 18, of East Brunswick, New Jersey, was detained on his way to the airport on Wednesday according to the US Department of Justice (Getty Images)

Throughout the posts, he referenced Adolf Hitler, encouraged violence against various ethnic and religious communities including Black and Jewish individuals, and praised mass shooters.

In May he told the undercover operative that he was planning to travel to Ukraine in July to join the Russian Volunteer Corps, a right-wing paramilitary unit of Russian citizens in Ukraine.

He said he chose the organization in part because it specialized in assassinations, attacks on power grids and other infrastructure sabotage.

Takhistov discussed infrastructure sabotage, specifically how to damage an electrical substation using Mylar balloons or Molotov cocktails, which he explained how to make.

He also told the undercover employee that while he was in Ukraine, the undercover operative needed to carry out at least one event of “serious activism,” the DOJ said.

The pair had visited two different electrical substations in North Brunswick and New Brunswick, New Jersey in June and July. During these visits, Takhistov instructed the undercover employee on numerous aspects of how to conduct an attack on an electrical substation.

On July 5, during one of these meetings, he directed the undercover operative to take several photographs of the electrical substations so that Takhistov could send them to his Russian friend for additional advice on how to best sabotage them.

Takhistov was arrested Wednesday afternoon at Newark Liberty International Airport where he was planning to travel to Paris on his way to Ukraine.

“The defendant was allegedly enroute to join the Russian Volunteer Corps, which he described as specializing in assassinations, attacks on power grids, and other infrastructure sabotage, so that he could act on his violent plans,” said US Attorney Philip R Sellinger for the District of New Jersey.

“We will not tolerate these kinds of alleged terroristic threats, and working with our partners, we will always be ready to root out and bring to justice anyone who attempts to carry out these acts.”