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FSB Hitwoman from Melitopol Arrested in Kyiv While Plotting to Kill Russian Opposition Leader
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The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has arrested an operative working on behalf of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) who was preparing to assassinate a prominent Russian opposition figure in Kyiv, the agency reported on September 22.
The target, who currently leads an all-Ukrainian non-governmental organization and works as a kickboxing coach in the capital.
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According to SBU investigators, the operative—an unemployed resident of the temporarily occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol—was recruited by the FSB after Russian intelligence offered to drop a criminal case against her involving illegal drug possession.
She subsequently completed a training course at an FSB-run facility in Melitopol, receiving instruction in operational security, land navigation, and marksmanship.
Following her training, the operative was routed through Belarus into Zhytomyr before arriving in Kyiv. While in the capital, she frequently changed hotel accommodations and deployed counter-surveillance measures to detect potential monitoring. Under directions from her FSB handler, she retrieved a pistol and ammunition from a concealed cache in a Kyiv forest park zone.
In this way, Russia hoped to kill a Russian opposition figure who had been fighting for Ukraine since 2022—first in the Kyiv region and then on the Eastern Front.
SBU counterintelligence officers intervened before the attack could take place, detaining the suspect near the victim’s workplace as she reconnoitered the area to set up a firing position.
A search of her hotel room yielded the firearm, ammunition, and a smartphone containing direct communications with her Russian handler, whom the SBU has formally identified.
The suspect has been served a notice of suspicion under Part 2, Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law). She remains held in custody without bail and faces up to life imprisonment with confiscation of property if convicted.
Czech investigative journalists have also recently exposed a covert European operation managed by the EU-sanctioned Russian propaganda project Rybar. Operating under the guise of an independent documentary crew, EU-resident Russian operatives traveled across the Schengen Area—including Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and France—to interview public figures for Kremlin disinformation campaigns.
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