FSB thwarted terrorist attacks by Ukraine's intelligence services against high-ranking Russian military officers

Four Russians recruited by the Ukrainian security services have been detained for preparing an assassination attempt on high-ranking Russian military officers and their family members, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has said on 26 December. This was reported by the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation on December 26.

"The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation has suppressed a series of attempts on the lives of high-ranking servicemen of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, taking part in a special military operation, as well as members of their families, prepared by agents of Ukrainian special services," the agency said in a statement.

Four Russian citizens, who were preparing these attempts, were detained during operational and investigative measures.

The investigation found out that in November 2024, a Russian man came from Ukraine through Moldova and Georgia to Moscow under the guise of a deportee. The man has lived permanently in Ukraine since 2020 and was recruited by the local security services to commit a terrorist attack.

In the capital region, this attacker took from the cache of video surveillance systems and an improvised explosive device (IED) in the form of a powerbank. Magnets were attached to the explosives in order to plant them under the car of one of the representatives of a high-ranking leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense. A close relative of the Ukrainian agent served as the military driver.

It was planned to detonate the IED from a distance - from the territory of Ukraine. The spouse of the recruited Russian, who lives in the town of Mirgorod, Poltava region, helped coordinate the terrorist activity. It was planned that after the terrorist attack the Ukrainian special services would help the attacker to go first to Ukraine and then to one of the European Union (EU) states.

In addition, the FSB officers found a Muscovite who also worked for the Ukrainian security services, conducting reconnaissance at the homes and places of work of the military and their families, against whom terrorist attacks were being prepared. This Russian took photos and videos, which he then sent to his handlers to organize assassination attempts.

In addition, the Ukrainians planned a terrorist attack against one of the military and involved two Russians, who were instructed to deliver an IED disguised as a folder with documents. These Russian citizens also received a bookmark from the cache. His coordinates were provided by a Ukrainian citizen born in 1988, Vitaliy Ragozha, a special services agent living in Poland, but born in the city of Krasnodon in the Luhansk People's Republic (LNR).

During searches, law enforcers found IEDs and means of communication in the possession of the defendants. Ukrainian special services delivered components for explosive devices to Russia in tools, car parts and household appliances.

The investigative service of the FSB Directorate for Moscow and Moscow Region opened criminal cases on illegal trafficking of explosives and explosive devices, preparation of terrorist acts and treason. The four detained Russians face up to life imprisonment.

The day before, December 25, the FSB officers detained seven Russians from Moscow, Sverdlovsk regions and Perm Krai, three of them being minors. They were preparing a terrorist attack against the head of a defense company, under whose car they planted a bomb. Law enforcers foiled the crime. One of the attackers said that he was promised to pay 500 thousand rubles for the execution of the attack, but they gave nothing.

A criminal case under part 3 of article 30 and part 2 of article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Attempt to commit a terrorist act as part of a group of persons by prior conspiracy") was initiated. It turned out that the detainees not only prepared the terrorist act, but also helped Ukrainian fraudsters by installing and maintaining equipment for them.