- Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have thwarted Ukrainian assassination plots targeting high-ranking Russian officers.
- This follows the assassination of Lieutenant General Kirillov, chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service.
- The FSB has detained four Russian citizens allegedly recruited by Ukrainian intelligence for these attacks.
- These events, reminiscent of Cold War tactics, highlight the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine, causing international concern.
In a recent development that has sent shockwaves through the international community, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that it had thwarted several assassination plots by Ukrainian intelligence services. The targets were high-ranking Russian officers and their families in Moscow, and the weapons of choice were bombs disguised as power banks or document folders. The FSB’s announcement comes on the heels of a shocking incident on December 17, when Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service assassinated Lieutenant General Kirillov, chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops.
The attack took place in Moscow, outside Kirillov’s apartment building, and was executed by detonating a bomb attached to an electric scooter. An SBU source confirmed to Reuters that the Ukrainian intelligence agency had orchestrated the hit. Russia has labeled the killing as a terrorist attack by Ukraine, a country with which it has been at war since February 2022, and has vowed revenge.
The FSB’s Response and Detentions
The FSB stated, The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has prevented a series of assassination attempts on high-ranking military personnel of the Defence Ministry. The agency also revealed that four Russian citizens involved in the preparation of these attacks have been detained. The FSB, which is the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, stated that the Russian citizens had been recruited by the Ukrainian intelligence services.
One of the men had retrieved a bomb disguised as a portable charger in Moscow, which was to be attached with magnets to the car of one of the Defence Ministry’s top officials. Another Russian man was tasked with reconnaissance of senior Russian defence officials, with one plot involving the delivery of a bomb disguised as a document folder. The exact date of the planned attacks was unclear, though one of the suspects said he had retrieved a bomb on Dec. 23, according to the FSB.
International Repercussions and Historical Parallels
Russian state TV showed footage of some of the suspects who admitted to being recruited by Ukrainian intelligence for bombings against Russian defence ministry officials. Moscow holds Ukraine responsible for a string of high-profile assassinations on its soil designed to weaken morale – and says the West is supporting a terrorist regime in Kyiv. Ukraine, which says Russia’s war against it poses an existential threat to the Ukrainian state, has made clear it regards such targeted killings as a legitimate tool.
In a related incident, Darya Dugina, the 29-year-old daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, was killed in August 2022 near Moscow. The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence agencies believe parts of the Ukrainian government authorized the killing. U.S. officials later admonished Ukrainian officials over the assassination, the Times said. Ukraine denied it killed Dugina.