The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the National Police prevented the contract killing of a Ukrainian soldier in Zaporizhzhia. The FSB agent who attacked the Ukrainian Armed Forces officer during his rehabilitation after being wounded was detained within a few hours after the assassination attempt.
This was reported by the SBU.
According to the investigation, Russian special services first lured the Ukrainian defender to an industrial area under the guise of a “date.” A girl he met on a website was supposed to come to the meeting place.
“Instead of the girl, a killer in a balaclava appeared in the industrial zone, who attacked the soldier from behind and struck him six times in the neck, chest, abdomen, and right leg. After that, the attacker fled the scene,” the SBU said.
The victim was hospitalized with serious injuries and is currently in intensive care in serious condition.
Within a few hours after the assassination attempt, SBU officers tracked down the killer and detained him at his relatives’ home, where he was trying to “lay low.”
According to the case file, the FSB’s order was carried out by a 25-year-old local unemployed man who came to the attention of the Russian special services when he was looking for “easy money” on Telegram channels. After several arson attacks in the city, the Russians instructed the agent to kill the Ukrainian Armed Forces officer. He received the address of the planned assassination from his handler in Russia.
“To lure the Ukrainian soldier to the location, the FSB created a fake account on a dating site for a girl who invited him to meet. A knife was found near the scene of the attack, which the killer had discarded during his escape. His smartphone and tablet, which he used to contact the FSB, were also seized,” the statement said.
SBU investigators informed the detainee that he was suspected of violating Part 3 of Article 15 and Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (attempted murder). The perpetrator is in custody. He faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
