Ukraine thwarts FSB assassination plot against defense company head
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Ukraine's National Police and Security Service (SBU) prevented an FSB plot to assassinate the head of a defense company in Kyiv, the SBU announced on Aug. 26.
The suspected assassin is a 63-year-old pensioner who moved to Kyiv from Luhansk Oblast, which is mostly occupied by Russia. According to the SBU, he was tasked with placing explosives under the driver's seat of the supposed victim's car.
The SBU and the National Police say they discovered and neutralized the explosive device. It contained 1 kg of hexogen, equivalent to approximately 2 kg of TNT, according to the security services.
According to the SBU, the suspect received instructions from Russian handlers. He purchased two mobile phones and a power bank from a shop, retrieved the components for the homemade bomb from a hiding place, and, within a few days, assembled all the components and attached the improvised explosive device to the car, the SBU said.
He also placed a camouflaged mobile phone opposite the car to provide his Russian handlers with a live feed to trigger the explosion, the SBU said.
Immediately after planting the explosive device, the perpetrator traveled by coach to Poland, intending to flee from there to Russia, the SBU said.
Polish authorities arrested the suspect as he was fleeing to Russia through Poland and Belarus, Polish media report.
The SBU investigators submitted a request to Polish law enforcement authorities to extradite the detainee to Ukraine. He has been notified in absentia of the charges against him for a "completed attempt" to commit a terrorist act.
Russia has repeatedly recruited Ukrainians to gather intelligence, help coordinate attacks, and even assist in attempted assassinations.
Recruitment methods include financial incentives, coercion, and blackmail. Vulnerable groups may be drawn in by online "easy money" schemes, while those in occupied territories or with relatives held as prisoners of war (POW) may face pressure or threats.
