Russia claims to have foiled Ukrainian assassination attempt against a high-ranking official
Kiev’s agents planned to assassinate their target during a visit to a cemetery in Moscow, the agency has said
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that it has foiled a Ukrainian plan to launch a terrorist attack against a senior government official in Moscow.
Kiev’s agents planned to assassinate the unnamed official during his visit to the graves of his relatives at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, Ukrainian intelligence agencies recruited an illegal migrant from a Central Asian country, two Russian citizens struggling with drug addiction, and a Kiev resident wanted in Moscow for murder and arms trafficking to carry out the attack.
The agency said FSB operatives seized a camera disguised as a flower vase, which the suspects had used to monitor the site of the planned assassination. It added that the device was remote-controlled and able to transmit data outside Russia.
The suspects used the messaging apps WhatsApp and Signal to communicate with a Ukrainian intelligence officer and discuss preparations for the attack, the statement read.
“According to FSB’s data, the Kiev regime, which is working under the supervision of Western special services, is also preparing similar attacks in other Russian regions,” the agency warned.
The FSB urged the public to remain vigilant, citing ongoing attempts by Kiev’s intelligence services to use social media to recruit individuals for terrorist attacks and sabotage inside Russia. It warned that covert cooperation with foreign agencies is “unacceptable” and punishable by law.
