Russia detains suspect allegedly planning to assassinate defense official, pro-war blogger, Russian media report
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a Russian citizen who was allegedly preparing an attack on a Defense Ministry official and a popular pro-war blogger, Russian media reported on Dec. 28, citing a statement from FSB.
The FSB claimed that the detained man was acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence, and had been allegedly communicating with them via Telegram.
The man allegedly recovered a homemade explosive device with a capacity of about 1.5 kilograms of explosive "disguised as a portable music speaker" from a hideout in the Moscow region.
According to the reports, the man was allegedly supposed to plant a bomb under the car of a "famous blogger" or under the gate of his house. He was also supposed to find the car of a high-ranking military officer in Moscow, which would then be mined.
He also "conducted reconnaissance activities" at the residences of both the officer and the blogger, FSB claimed.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims. Ukraine made no comments on the alleged operation.
This news comes just days after the FSB detained four other Russians on Dec. 26 for allegedly preparing a series of attacks against senior Russian Defense Ministry officials and their families.
They were also allegedly acting according to a Ukrainian plot with the aim to assassinate senior military officers.
Both arrests followed the death of Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov at the hands of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which claimed responsibility, on Dec. 17.
In this case, the suspect arrested by Russian law enforcement on Dec. 18 was a citizen of Uzbekistan who claimed to have been recruited by Ukrainian special services.
Oleg Sukhov
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