Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB)saidMonday that its agents killed a Ukrainian man and arrested another during an operation to thwart an alleged assassination attempt of a senior Russian military officer in annexed Crimea.
The law enforcement agency said the man, allegedly recruited by Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence, was “neutralized” after placing an explosive device under the officer’s car and “offering armed resistance.”
Video shared by state news agenciesshowedthe man’s dead body on the pavement, along with a hand grenade and a rectangular object underneath a black sedan.A close-up displayed various electronic components, including a Verizon phone with a Ukrainian coat of arms and flag on the screen.
In its statement, the FSB described the item as a “Western-made explosive device.”
A second man was placed in pre-trial detention on charges of aiding terrorist activity. The FSB said he was an accomplice of 40-year-old Rustem Fakhriyev, identified as a GUR officer and alleged organizer of the plot.
Neither the alleged assassins nor the officer purportedly targeted in the plot were identified by name.
The FSB video showed security agents arresting the second man, whose face was blurred, at his home. He appeared elderly and required help walking up steps.
