The online project is designed to lure participants into criminal activity, the agency has warned

Russian officials have sounded the alarm over what they claim is an intelligence-gathering scheme disguised as a patriotic photo contest, orchestrated by foreign spy agencies. A counter-disinformation group has suggested that Ukraine is behind the scheme.

In a statement issued on Monday, a regional branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) warning the public that online advertisements promoting contests could be traps aimed at drawing individuals into illegal activities.

The FSB cited a supposed contest in which organizers requested high-quality photos of bridges, railway junctions, and industrial facilities. Officials said the true intent of the project was "the collection of intelligence on infrastructure and its transfer to a foreign intelligence service at the expense of Russian security."

Russian media outlets identified an online post believed to have prompted the warning. They noted several signs suggesting the contest was suspicious - beginning with a typo in the word "contest," possibly indicating the use of AI in its creation. Organizers also failed to publish detailed rules or obtain formal consent to process personal data, both of which are required under Russian law.

Lapsha Media, a counter-disinformation group, alleged that the fake patriotic photo contest was likely a scheme orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence. The claim comes as Kiev has increasingly targeted infrastructure deep inside Russia with long-range kamikaze drones and sabotage operations.

In one example in late May, a train derailment in Bryansk Region killed seven people and left over a hundred injured. Investigators said the incident was caused by an explosive device and was part of a series of Ukrainian operations targeting infrastructure in the Russian region.

The FSB also said in May that it had foiled an attempt by Ukrainian military intelligence to gather personal data on Russian schoolchildren, alleging that Kiev's operatives had used phishing schemes to deceive school administrators into sharing databases. The FSB claimed Ukraine aimed to exploit the information to recruit the children as intelligence assets.