Russian Security Foils Assassination Attempt on Senior Defense Official in Moscow

The Russian Federal Security Service announced it prevented an assassination attempt targeting a high-ranking officer in the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow and arrested a woman involved in the case who had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence.

In an official statement, the Federal Security Service said it "managed to foil an attempt carried out by Ukrainian specialized agencies with direct involvement from their Western sponsors to execute an unprecedented series of sabotage and terrorist attacks using drones against military infrastructure facilities, a leading enterprise in the military-industrial complex, as well as military personnel affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense."

The statement added that "a terrorist attack aimed at a senior official in the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow was prevented."

It further detailed that "a Russian citizen born in 2001 was detained; she was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence agencies in 2024 via the WhatsApp application to conduct reconnaissance and identify terrorist targets in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. To recruit her, the Ukrainian coordinator feigned a romantic relationship and promised to continue their relationship in Ukraine after she completed all assigned tasks. For this purpose, the woman rented an apartment in Moscow in March 2026 and installed surveillance cameras to monitor the officer’s residence and vehicle movements, transmitting the visual feed to Ukraine."

The statement continued: "She also identified the locations of surveillance cameras near the officer’s residence and sent this information to the coordinator. In the rented apartment, the woman prepared camouflage materials and food to accommodate the direct perpetrator of the terrorist attack, who was scheduled to arrive in Moscow after leaving Russia via Turkey and Moldova to Ukraine."

The Federal Security Service concluded by confirming that "the accomplice admitted her guilt and is cooperating with the investigation."