Ukraine’s security service arrests a Russian agent plotting to kill police patrol in Kyiv

Source: Ukraine’s Security Service

Ukrainian security forces have detained a Russian agent who plotted to ambush and kill a police patrol in central Kyiv.

On November 17, the suspect staged a fake domestic violence report to lure police to an apartment building in Kyiv’s Pechersk district. When officers attempted to enter the apartment, a tripwire rigged with an F-1 grenade was triggered. Fortunately, no one was injured, as the police avoided the deadly trap.

Investigators discovered the apartment was vacant, and the fake call—made using a woman’s voice—was designed solely to set up the ambush. The suspect, identified as a 43-year-old Kyiv region resident with a long criminal record including robbery, theft, and prison escape, had been recruited remotely by Russian intelligence. Before the attack, he carried out a test assignment – his handlers ordered him to set fire to a relay cabinet at a railway facility and send them a video of his sabotage act.

Under detailed instructions from his Russian contacts, the suspect rented an apartment in Kyiv, rigged it with the grenade trap, and installed cameras to livestream the explosion.  The police tracked and captured the saboteur swiflty.

Searches of  his home uncovered a mobile phone, SIM cards, and clothing linking him to the crime. The Security Service of Ukraine charged him of terrorism under Article 258, Part 2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. The suspect now faces up to 12 years in prison with asset confiscation.