Russia was preparing to kill journalists and military personnel

Russia was preparing a series of murders of military and journalists in Ukraine - police

Ukrainian law enforcement officers exposed an agent-combat group that was preparing a series of high-profile murders on the territory of Ukraine on the orders of Russian special services. All members of the network were detained.

Details of the special operation

According to the investigation, the Kremlin compiled a so-called «red list» of potential targets. It included a well-known Ukrainian journalist, who was declared an «extremist» in Russia, the head of a strategic state-owned enterprise, active officers of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, including members of the Foreign Legion, and members of the Special Operations Forces.

In addition, among the possible targets was a civic activist who had left Russia and was publicly pro-Ukrainian.

How the group worked

Investigators found that Russian special services planned to use Moldovan citizens to carry out contract killings to divert suspicion from the Russian trail. The agents would arrive in Ukraine under various pretexts and then conduct reconnaissance, collecting information about the potential victims' places of residence, work and routes.

The group's coordinator was a 34-year-old Moldovan citizen. According to law enforcement officials, his biography is typical of recruited Russian agents: he had previously served a sentence in a Russian prison, where he was recruited by the special services.

The Russian trail

The investigation also found that in 2022-2023, the man had already taken part in attempts to destabilise the situation in Moldova itself by organising pro-Russian protests. Ukrainian law enforcement officials see this as part of the Kremlin's broader hybrid activities in the region.

Context.

Russian intelligence services regularly attempt to conduct sabotage and espionage operations against Ukraine, including by creating networks of foreigners to disguise their involvement. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have repeatedly reported the exposure of such groups since the beginning of the full-scale war.