Ukraine says detained Frenchman was plotting Euro 20169 attacks

Ukraine’s state security service (SBU) has said a French citizen detained on the Ukrainian-Polish border in late May had been planning a string of attacks in France to coincide with Euro 2016.

The SBU said it had followed the man since December and allowed him to purchase five machine guns, two rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons before he was arrested.

The SBU did not identify the man but said he was driven by ultra-nationalist views and planned 15 attacks on bridges, railways and other infrastructure.

Extremist attacks are a major concern for French authorities as they prepare to host the month-long football tournament at stadiums in the Paris area and eight other cities from Friday. Islamic State extremists have threatened France during the tournament, but authorities have not confirmed specific dangers.

France is deploying 90,000 security forces, and on Sunday the president, François Hollande, said the threat of attacks would not prevent the tournament from being successful.

Ukrainian authorities released photos of a fair-haired man, his face blurred, holding various weapons. The SBU said the man came up on its radar last year during his stay in eastern Ukraine, where he was "trying to establish ties with Ukrainian troops under the guise of volunteering”.

"The Frenchman spoke negatively about his government’s migration policies, the spread of Islam and globalisation,” the SBU said. "He also said that he wanted to perpetrate acts of terror in protest.”