A detained Russian citizen now faces allegations that could reinforce Moscow's account of Ukrainian-directed sabotage after a blast killed a senior naval officer in occupied Crimea. Just after dawn on 13 August a device hidden in a rubbish bin exploded in a residential square of Sevastopol, killing Robert Shageev, the deputy commander of a Black Sea fleet submarine brigade, as he walked by in uniform. Investigators later said the device contained about 500g of TNT and that Shageev died instantly.
Police moved quickly to name a suspect, detaining 32-year-old Margarita Reutt, a Sochi resident. Authorities reported finding a remote control they allege was used to trigger the device. Russian security services said Reutt confessed and told investigators a handler tied to Ukrainian intelligence had promised a large payment in cryptocurrency and exit documents to help her leave Russia. Those claims could not be independently verified, and the security services have in the past publicised alleged confessions before cases reached court.
The State’s narrative places Reutt within a broader pattern, one Kyiv has sometimes acknowledged and often left unaddressed, of attacks on senior Russian officers since the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian intelligence agencies have been linked to several assassinations and attempts, according to Russian statements, and the methods attributed to those operations have ranged from activists and paid recruits to unwitting couriers. The swift naming and capture of Reutt presents an uncommon chance to trace the background of a person accused of turning against her own country.
Friends and acquaintances describe a woman who combined risk-taking with steady focus. Born Margarita Yakovleva in Yaroslavl, she adopted her grandmother’s surname after her parents divorced. Childhood peers remember a warm, sociable girl who nonetheless sought adventure. “Margarita was fearless. She would climb trees, jump off cars, do things most boys were scared of,” one childhood friend said. Those traits emerged again at university in Novosibirsk, where she studied management, joined a parachuting club, competed in amateur go-karting and became goalkeeper for the water polo team. “Margarita was so talented and never afraid of the ball,” her coach recalled.
Later she moved to Sochi, tried running a travel agency and in the early 2020s joined Vitauct, an alternative medicine company focusing on longevity. Gennadiy Garbuzov, Vitauct’s founder, described her as ordinary and struggled to reconcile the employee he knew with the charges. Online, Reutt posted about health, animal rights and alternative medicine, and travel records and photos show frequent trips to Turkey, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Friends who spoke to reporters said her political views hardened over time. “Rita believed that the country was going in the wrong direction,” a longtime friend said, adding they remained shocked she could have carried out an attack. Kyiv declined to comment on the bombing or the accusations against Reutt. Her trial, like other cases involving alleged Ukrainian operations, is expected to proceed behind closed doors, constraining public access to evidence and testimony and leaving key questions about motive and handlers unresolved.
