Russia’s Federal Security Service announced on Thursday that they had successfully thwarted several plots orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services to assassinate high-ranking Russian officers and their families in Moscow. The plans involved the use of bombs disguised as power banks or document folders.
One of the incidents involved the killing of Lieutenant General Kirillov, chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, by a bomb attached to an electric scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow on December 17. The Ukrainian SBU intelligence service was confirmed to be behind the attack.
Following the assassination, Russia condemned the act as a terrorist attack and vowed to seek revenge. The FSB stated that they had detained four Russian citizens involved in planning the attacks, revealing that they had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services.
The FSB disclosed that one of the suspects had obtained a bomb disguised as a portable charger to be attached to the car of a senior Defense Ministry official, while another was involved in reconnaissance of Russian defense officials. The FSB also mentioned a plot to deliver a bomb disguised as a document folder.
Despite the arrests, the exact date of the planned attacks remained unclear. Russian state TV aired footage of the suspects confessing to being recruited by Ukrainian intelligence for the bombings.
Moscow blamed Ukraine for a series of targeted assassinations on Russian soil, accusing the West of supporting a “terrorist regime” in Kyiv. Ukraine, on the other hand, viewed such assassinations as a legitimate tactic in the face of Russia’s existential threat.
In a separate incident, Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, was killed near Moscow in August 2022. US intelligence agencies believed Ukrainian government officials were involved in authorizing the killing, leading to admonishment from US officials. However, Ukraine denied any involvement in Dugina’s assassination.
The ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to escalate, with both sides accusing each other of engaging in covert operations and targeted killings. The recent foiled assassination plots highlight the dangerous and volatile nature of the conflict between the two countries.
