Russian special services planned to kill ex-commander of Ukrainian army battalion - SBU

"SBU operatives established that Russian special services involved a Kharkiv resident, who had previously served in the National Guard of Ukraine but had been dismissed due to compromising circumstances, to commit the crime. The Kharkiv resident received the task during his short trip to Russia. Russian curators agreed on further actions through a mobile messenger. They promised the executor a monetary reward for the killing of the former commander," the report reads.

Russian special services planned to take revenge on the Ukrainian commander for successful operations against illegal armed formations of terrorist organizations "LPR" and "DPR," in particular, the neutralization of a group of officers of the Russian Armed Forces, one of whom bore the title of "Hero of Russia," according to the SBU.

"The Kharkiv citizen was preparing to commit an assassination attempt in an apartment building where the commander lives by planting an improvised explosive device. The saboteur's actions endangered the lives of many civilians," the SBU said.

According to the report, the culprit was detained with the explosive in the building.

op