Russia foils assassination plot involving music speaker bomb
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has reportedly foiled an assassination attempt on a senior Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger. The plot was allegedly planned by Ukraine and involved a bomb hidden inside a portable music speaker. The FSB disclosed that the explosive device, equal to 1.5kg of TNT and filled with ball bearings, was picked up by a Russian citizen from a Moscow location on the instructions of an officer of Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency via Telegram.
Unnamed Russian citizen involved in assassination plot
The FSB has not revealed the names of the intended targets or the Russian citizen involved in the plot. The agency's report said the individual had contacted an officer from Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency via Telegram. On the instructions of this Ukrainian intelligence officer, the Russian citizen picked up the bomb from a hiding place in Moscow. Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency has not commented on the allegations so far.
Tensions escalate over targeted killings
Ukraine sees acts of assassination as legitimate warfare tactics to weaken morale and punish those Kyiv holds responsible for war crimes. Meanwhile, Russia condemns these actions as illegal "acts of terrorism" and accuses Ukraine of assassinating civilians, citing the 2022 death of Darya Dugina as an example. Dugina was a pro-Putin journalist who was killed in a car bombing.
Recent assassinations fuel Russia-Ukraine conflict
The conflict between the two nations also escalated recently after Ukraine's SBU intelligence service assassinated Lieutenant General Kirillov in Moscow with a bomb attached to an electric scooter. Kyiv had accused Kirillov of promoting the use of banned chemical weapons, a claim Moscow denies. Russia vowed to retaliate for Kirillov's assassination after the incident.
