Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it has detained a suspected Russian agent who prepared a weapons cache in Odesa intended for planned contract killings.
The suspect, a resident of Poltava, was recruited by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) through Telegram channels offering quick earnings, the SBU said on Thursday, April 9.
According to investigators, the agent was sent to Odesa, where he retrieved a cache containing a grenade, an assault rifle, and ammunition based on coordinates provided by his handlers.
He later hid the weapons in a new location, including inside trash containers in a central city park, and passed the coordinates to Russian operatives.
The SBU said Russian intelligence planned to recruit a hitman to use the weapons in an assassination attempt targeting a local military recruitment official, with the possibility of further attacks.
The suspect was detained after returning to Poltava, and a mobile phone used to communicate with Russian handlers was seized.
He has been charged with high treason and illegal weapons handling under Ukrainian law. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The SBU also identified the Russian handler, who has been charged in absentia.