In Zaporizhzhia, an officer was lured to a "date" and tried to be killed. "Killer" detained - photos
The detainee (Photo: SBU)

The police and the Security Service of Ukraine have exposed a man who tried to kill an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russia's orders. He pretended to be a girl and lured the military officer to a "date," according to police and SBU .

The events took place in frontline Zaporizhzhia. a 23-year-old platoon commander of a military unit was undergoing rehabilitation after being wounded on the front line.

As the investigation revealed, Russian special services first lured the Ukrainian defender to the city's industrial zone under the guise of a "date." The meeting place was supposed to be a girl he had met on the specialized website.

However, instead, a man wearing a balaclava appeared in the industrial area. He attacked the officer from the back and stabbed him six times in the neck, chest, abdomen, and right leg. According to police, the attacker fled when he was afraid of the officer's physical resistance and his cries for help.

The victim was hospitalized in intensive care - he is currently in serious condition.

The police interviewed witnesses, monitored CCTV footage, and engaged forensic experts and dog handlers. A sniffer dog, Pixel, found a knife with traces of blood near the scene of the attack, which turned out to be the murder weapon, police said .

Within hours of the assassination attempt, SBU officers tracked down the attacker and detained him at his relatives' place, where he was trying to "lay low." He turned out to be a 25-year-old local unemployed man who, according to the investigation, was acting on the orders of the FSB - a phone and a tablet were found in his possession, through which he communicated.

The SBU noted that after the "test" arson attacks in the city, the Russians instructed the man to kill an AFU officer. He received the address of the planned assassination attempt from a Russian handler. In order to lure the soldier to the right place, the Russian secret service created a fake account on a dating site for a girl who allegedly invited him to a meeting.

Law enforcement officers also found in the trash the most bloodstained pants and gloves, which the defendant put in a backpack and threw away to get rid of the evidence of the attack.

Investigators served the detainee a notice of suspicion of completed attempted murder. He is currently in custody and could face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.