Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it had prevented what it described as a wave of terrorist attacks in Kyiv allegedly plotted by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), including explosions in metro stations and shopping and popular entertainment spots.
In a statement on Tuesday, the SBU said the investigation indicated the attacks were intended to destabilize the situation in the Ukrainian capital and included plans for “contract killings of well-known Ukrainians.”
According to the agency, the suspected organizer of the operation was a resident of Crimea who began working for Russian special services after Russia seized the peninsula in 2014.
The SBU stated that the suspect attempted to recruit Ukrainians, including acquaintances who were not subject to mobilization.
The Crimean native, recruited by the FSB, traveled to Kyiv via third countries, the agency said. Once in the capital, the individual was allegedly instructed to collect a Makarov pistol from a cache and to use it in the assassination of a media personality.
“The Security Service uncovered the traitor at an early stage and documented all his contacts with the FSB,” the statement said.
Investigators have charged the alleged recruiter in Crimea under three articles of Ukraine’s Criminal Code — high treason, terrorism and illegal handling of weapons.
The man remains at large in a territory occupied by Russia.