Ukrainian plot to assassinate Russian defense industry leader derailed – FSB
Russian agents have arrested a man accused of plotting to assassinate a general director of a defense industry enterprise on behalf of Ukraine, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has said. The suspect also reportedly admitted he had been spying on the Russian army since last summer.
In a statement on Tuesday, the FSB said that a Russian national had made contact with a representative of an unnamed pro-Ukrainian terrorist group via Telegram. He was ordered to travel to Bryansk Region which borders Ukraine, to recover a drone-dropped cache containing firearms and explosives, the agency said.
The weapons were intended for use in an assassination attempt on the head of a defense industrial facility in Belgorod, the FSB said. The suspect is now charged with high treason and faces up to life in prison.
The FSB also released a video in which the man confesses that since June 2024, while serving with Russian forces on the conflict frontline in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, he relayed to Kiev data on the whereabouts of Russian army personnel and hardware as well as positions of electronic warfare and air defense systems.
In addition, he confessed to coordinating Ukrainian missile and artillery attacks and transmitting photographs and contact information of Russian military personnel.
The footage released by the FSB also shows the agency’s operatives driving up to the suspect in a minivan in a rural area. Within moments, the man, who is carrying a large backpack, is seen being pinned to the ground.
Another part of the video shows a forest stash containing what appears to be explosives and a handgun.
Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of organizing multiple sabotage and assassination attempts on Russian territory in recent months, including attacks targeting military commanders and other high-profile figures.
