Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has dismantled a Russian intelligence-linked hit squad that was preparing a series of assassinations and attacks across the country, according to a statement published Tuesday, March 24.
During the operation, Ukrainian forces killed an armed suspect who resisted arrest and detained more than 10 members of the network.
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According to the investigation, the group was preparing to assassinate public figures, including Defense Ministry adviser and volunteer Serhii Sternenko, as well as Russian-born fighter Ilya Bogdanov, who has fought for Ukraine since 2014.
Network coordinated by Russian intelligence
The suspects gathered intelligence on the movements and locations of military personnel and public figures, passing the information to a coordinator linked to Russia’s military intelligence.
Authorities said the coordinator was a forensic expert from Poltava who had been recruited by Russian intelligence and had been relaying targeting data to operatives.
The gunman, originally from the occupied Donetsk region, had undergone training under Russian intelligence and was tasked with planting improvised explosive devices or carrying out close-range shootings if bomb attacks failed.
Separately, prosecutors said the network also collected intelligence on Ukrainian military positions in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions and transmitted the data to Russian handlers via messaging apps.
In one case, the group was tasked with identifying a location frequented by Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk for a planned attack.
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Authorities said an explosive device intended for the attack was delivered by drone to a pre-designated location.
All suspects have been detained without bail and face multiple charges, including treason and terrorism-related offenses.
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