General
Ukraine says it caught hitmen on Russian mission to kill top officials
Ukraine arrested two people working for Russian intelligence services who planned to kill Ukraine's defence minister and the head of its military intelligence agency, Ukraine's domestic security service, the SBU, said on Monday (8 August).
The Security Service of Ukraine foiled the plot by the Russian GRU military intelligence agency to use a sabotage group to carry out three murders including that of a prominent Ukrainian activist, the agency said in a statement.
There was no immediate reaction to the Ukraine statement from Moscow or Russian state-run media.
The suspects, one a resident of the eastern Luhansk region held by Russia-backed separatists and the other a resident of Ukraine's capital Kyiv, were promised up to $150,000 by Russian handlers for the murder of each of their targets, the SBU said.
The man from Luhansk region entered Ukraine from Belarus and was detained in the city of Kovel in northwestern Ukraine along with the Kyiv resident, the statement said.
Russia invaded Ukraine in Feb. 24 and security for top officials is extremely tight. Kyiv's government district is cordoned off with checkpoints manned by armed men. Sandbags are piled up in the windows and entrances of government buildings.
The SBU has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy forced out its head and the state prosecutor general last month, citing dozens of cases of collaboration with Russia by officials in their agencies.
Share this article:
EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter. Please see EU Reporter’s full Terms and Conditions of publication for more information EU Reporter embraces artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance journalistic quality, efficiency, and accessibility, while maintaining strict human editorial oversight, ethical standards, and transparency in all AI-assisted content. Please see EU Reporter’s full A.I. Policy for more information.
-
Defence4 days agoShoot the messenger: How Europe learned to silence its own warnings
-
Climate change3 days agoThe Earth is accumulating heat at an accelerating rate: Global warming reached 1.37°C in 2025
-
Asylum policy3 days agoNew migration and asylum rules enter into application: What is changing?
-
South Korea3 days agoEU and Republic of Korea bolster strategic partnership with new areas of cooperation
