The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) prevented the assassination of Serhiy Filimonov, commander of the 108th separate battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Da Vinci's Wolves," which was ordered by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). This was reported by... SBU and Office of the Attorney General.

According to the investigation, the Russians recruited a former participant in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) from Kamyanske, Dnipropetrovsk region, to commit the crime "under a false flag."

A man received a call on one of the social networks from a representative of the Russian special services, who impersonated an employee of the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine). During the conversation, she informed him that the online store where the suspect had previously ordered medicines allegedly finances Russian troops.

She used fabricated information to accuse the Ukrainian of "treason" and reported a criminal case that was allegedly opened against him.

In order to increase psychological pressure, FSB representatives sent a forged summons to the former serviceman, summoning him for questioning by the SBU.

After that, he was offered alleged "cooperation" with law enforcement agencies in exchange for closing the criminal case. For this purpose, the suspect was sent a questionnaire for joining the ranks of the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) and instructed to arrive in Kyiv.

In the capital, the man was tasked with renting an apartment in the building where the alleged Russian strike adjuster lives and starting to monitor him.

"After one of the massive missile strikes on the capital, the curator convinced the suspect that the 'target' he was monitoring was responsible for it," law enforcement officials added.

The person being followed by the recruited individual was actually Serhiy Filimonov, law enforcement officials said.

The defendant in the case regularly sent the curator photographs from the courtyard of the building and descriptions of the soldier's movements.

Later, Russian special services provided the resident of Kamyanske with the coordinates of a hideout on the outskirts of Kyiv, where a Kalashnikov assault rifle was hidden. The man then received instructions to eliminate a Ukrainian soldier.

The SBU detained the suspect as he was leaving the house with a loaded weapon. During the search, a mobile phone was seized from him, which the man used to correspond with Russian special services.

The detained person has been notified of suspicion of illegal storage of weapons and ammunition.

"Russian handlers manipulated the patriotic beliefs of the Ukrainian man, who sincerely believed he was helping the Ukrainian special service fight the enemy. In correspondence with his contact, the man expressed his willingness to destroy the occupiers – even at the cost of his own life," the SBU said.

  • Agent operations "under a false flag" are a relatively new tactic for the Russian intelligence service. Previously, the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) reported on the exposure of suspects cooperating with Russia, who did so for money or ideological reasons.
  • But on July 23, the SBU prevented a terrorist attack at a cafe in the center of Kyiv, where the suspect was... allegedly acted on instructions from Ukrainian special servicesAs law enforcement officers established, the Russians posed as representatives of the SBU and assured the woman that she was carrying out tasks for the benefit of Ukraine.