Russia was preparing series of murders of well-known Ukrainian journalists, military personnel and public figures, - SSU. VIDEO&PHOTOS
The Security Service of Ukraine, together with the National Police and law enforcement agencies of Moldova, conducted an operation and thwarted an attempt by the Russian Federation to carry out a series of contract killings in Ukraine.
This was reported by the SSU press service, according to Censor.NET.
What is known?
The special operation by law enforcement agencies was codenamed "Enigma 2.0". In Ukraine and Moldova, they managed to neutralise a Russian operational-combat group that was supposed to kill well-known people in Ukraine.
Enemy targets
The Russian Federation's "targets" were Ukrainian journalists and public figures, the head of a strategic enterprise, and military personnel from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, in particular fighters from the Foreign Legion of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence.
The suspects developed various options for the attacks: from point-blank shootings to car bombings. Russian special services promised a reward of up to $100,000 for the murders, depending on the status of the person.
Detention
"As a result of joint actions, the leader (resident) of the enemy cell, a 34-year-old repeat offender from Moldova, two of his agents, and their accomplices from Ukraine, the EU, and unrecognised Transnistria were detained.
As the investigation established, the main suspect was recruited by Russian special services while serving a sentence in a Russian prison. After serving his sentence, he was sent to Moldova to form an agent-combat group under the control of the Russian Federation.
The resident selected "like-minded people" with pro-Kremlin views, primarily among individuals with military experience, to join the group," the statement said.
After that, the agents were divided into groups. The first group tracked the whereabouts and daily routines of potential victims, while the second group consisted of "killers" who were to carry out contract killings.
The Russian agents were then transferred to Ukraine under the guise of tourists and dispersed to rented accommodation in various regions of our country.
It is known that the agents were in constant contact with the resident and received money for the preparation of the attacks through crypto wallets and bank cards of foreign financial institutions.
To monitor their "targets," the agents posed as delivery service couriers, photographing and videotaping the targets of the attacks, marking their geolocations on Google Maps, and "reporting" to the resident.
The Russian special services hoped to use high-profile murders to spread panic and destabilise the socio-political situation in Ukraine.
During searches, firearms, ammunition, combat grenades and communication devices were seized from the detainees.
The suspects have been notified of their status as suspects under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
- Part 1 of Article 14, paragraph 11 of Part 2 of Article 115 (preparation for intentional murder on commission);
- Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives).
The issue of additional charges against the leader and members of the hostile cell is also being considered.
The perpetrators face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
According to the National Police, the Russians offered $100,000 for the murder of one of the individuals. The amount depended on the notoriety and influence of the potential victim.
"It has been established that among the individuals targeted for elimination were a well-known journalist, who was included in Russia's list of "extremists" and declared wanted, one of the leaders of a state-owned strategic enterprise, active servicemen of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, including fighters of the Foreign Legion of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Special Operations Forces, as well as a civil activist, a native of the Russian Federation, who took a pro-Ukrainian position," law enforcement officials said.
According to Prosecutor General Kravchenko, one of the victims was to be Andrii Yusov, representative for strategic communications of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and deputy head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Seven people have been detained in Ukraine. At the same time, urgent investigative actions were carried out in Moldova, where three more people were detained, including the organizer of the network and two of his accomplices.
What preceded this?
- Earlier it was reported that the Moldovan police and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are jointly investigating the preparation of the physical elimination of several public figures in Ukraine.
