The SBU and the National Police detained an agent-combat group of the Russian GRU that was preparing contract killings of public figures and military personnel in Kyiv. The group included a woman from Kherson.
This was reported on the SBU’s page.
“SBU counterintelligence detained all members of the enemy cell while they were preparing an assassination attempt on the commander of one of the volunteer formations of the Kyiv territorial community. According to the investigation, the perpetrators planned to eliminate the Ukrainian defender with a firearm near his place of service,” the post reads.
The targets of the killers were commanders of units of the National Guard, the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), and the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To this end, they planned to install improvised explosive devices under the vehicles of Ukrainian military personnel.
According to the case materials, the main perpetrators of the Russian-ordered hit are a recruited recidivist who had previously been prosecuted for robbery, and his accomplice, who arrived from Zaporizhzhia.
Among the other figures is the director of a private security company who provided the perpetrators with a car to flee the site of the planned terrorist attack.
Another offender turned out to be a law enforcement officer from the Dnipropetrovsk region who was monitoring departmental databases.
It was established that the cell’s activities were coordinated by an employee of the 4th Directorate of the “Kubinka” special-purpose center of the Russian military intelligence special operations forces. His identity has already been established by SBU officers.
To recruit the individuals, he involved a resident of Kherson whom he met during the temporary occupation of the city in 2022. After the de-occupation of the regional center, she fled to Russia.
Searches of the detainees’ places of residence and work seized weapons, replacement SIM cards, and smartphones containing evidence of work for the Russian GRU.
Investigators of the Security Service notified them of suspicion in accordance with the committed crimes under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – Part 2 of Article 111 (state treason committed under martial law), Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 115 (completed attempt of intentional murder for mercenary motives, committed on order by prior conspiracy of a group of persons), Part 2 of Article 362 (unauthorized actions with information processed in electronic computing machines (computers), automated systems, computer networks, or stored on media of such information, committed by a person who has the right of access to it).
Members of the cell face from 10 years’ imprisonment up to life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
In addition, the actions of the curator from Russia and the resident have been qualified in accordance with the committed crimes under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 2 of Article 111 (state treason committed under martial law), Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 113 (attempt to commit sabotage, committed by prior conspiracy of a group of persons) and Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 115 (completed attempt of intentional murder committed for mercenary motives, on order and by prior conspiracy of a group of persons).