Ukraine Says Thwarts 'Terrorist' Bomb

Supporters of Yulia Tymoshenko demonstrate outside the court building in Kyiv where her trial is being held.

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) says it has detained three people who had planned to explode a bomb in the capital Kyiv on August 24, Ukraine's Independence Day.

An SBU statement said that operatives found a homemade explosive device stuffed with nails when they raided premises rented by the suspects. It said they had prevented a "terrorist act."

Unlike its ex-Soviet neighbor Russia, Ukraine has no recent history of large-scale bombings or violent political attacks.

However, the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko, a leader of the peaceful 2004 Orange Revolution and a fierce opponent of President Viktor Yanukovych, has polarized the nation of 46 million.

compiled from agency reports