Margarita Reut, 32, was arrested and charged with terrorism after confessing to planting a trash-can bomb that killed a former Ukrainian submarine commander in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Reut, a Russian national born in Yaroslavl, was detained in Sevastopol last Thursday following the blast that killed Robert Shageev, 49, a captain first rank in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, according to the FSB and Russian Telegram channels close to security services. The explosion occurred on Stoletovsky Avenue as Shageev walked down a staircase with another man, with the device hidden in a trash bin beside a bench.
The FSB announced it had detained a Russian citizen born in 1994 on suspicion of carrying out the attack, alleging she acted on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services. Mash, a Russian news channel with links to security services, identified the suspect as Reut, a 32-year-old Sochi resident. The channel reported that she had already purchased a plane ticket out of Sochi and planned to flee the country after the assassination.
Reut was remorseless when questioned, boldly answering “no” when asked if she regretted the killing, according to Mash. She reportedly confessed and said she had been paid in cryptocurrency to kill the officer.
Reut was remanded on a charge of terrorism leading to death and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted, according to Russian-based E2W News. She appeared on escort websites and also worked as a biologist producing floral-infused vaginal suppositories, according to reports. She previously lived in Sochi, a Black Sea resort city, and frequently visited Crimea.
It’s unclear when or how she allegedly became a Ukrainian intelligence agent. Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the explosion or claimed responsibility.
Reut was previously arrested in July 2025 after shouting “serves you right, Russians!” On a public train from Samara to Adler after news broke about a Ukrainian drone attack on a rail station in Russia’s Rostov region. She was detained for two days for resisting arrest and fined 30,000 rubles, approximately $365, for “discrediting” the Russian military under Article 20.3.3, Part 1, of Russia’s Administrative Offenses Code, according to E2W News and court records in Krasnodar Krai.
In the viral moment that made Shageev a target, the Crimea native had commanded Ukraine’s only submarine, the Zaporizhzhia, when Russian forces seized the peninsula in 2014. He surrendered the vessel without a fight and defected to the Russian military, later serving as deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet’s 4th Separate Submarine Brigade. Ukraine charged him with treason and desertion over his decision to join Russia. During the 2014 invasion, Shageev had boasted that his unit would hold out until the bitter end, only to fork over the vessel and switch sides. Ukrainian investigators said he continued serving Russia during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with submarines under his command allegedly carrying out Kalibr cruise missile strikes against Ukraine.
The Russian Telegram news channel “Ostorozhno Novosti” reports that Reut had volunteered for cleanup efforts, including removing fuel oil from beaches in Anapa, and also ran her own business. A law enforcement source told Russian business outlet RBC that the woman set off a bomb hidden inside a backpack, though other reports maintained the device was in a trash bin. The Telegram channel “ChP / Krym” initially reported that a woman who had been following Shageev detonated the bomb and that local residents detained her, though that channel later deleted the report.
Reut remains in custody as Russian authorities continue their investigation.