Russia Sends FSB Official Linked to Plot to Kill Ukraine’s Top Aide Budanov to Negotiate With Him

Russia has sent a senior Federal Security Service (FSB) official to peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi, where he is participating in talks alongside Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s Presidential Office chief, whose attempted assassination in 2019 was previously linked to the FSB unit the Russian official now heads.

According to Russian outlet Agentstvo on November 10, Dmitry Minaev, head of the FSB’s Counterintelligence Operations Department, joined Moscow’s delegation for trilateral negotiations with Ukraine and the United States.

Minaev is among four officials participating in this negotiating format for the first time, alongside Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, senior FSB official Alexei Komkov, and arms control diplomat Oleg Postnikov.

The Russian delegation is led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky and includes senior representatives of the Foreign Ministry, military intelligence, and security services.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Ukrainian officials previously linked the FSB’s Counterintelligence Operations Department to a failed assassination attempt against Budanov in 2019, before he became head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.

The same department was also allegedly involved in two car bombings in Ukraine in 2017 that killed Ukrainian intelligence officers Maksym Shapoval and Oleksandr Kharaberiush.

The Wall Street Journal further reported that the department was involved in detaining American citizens in Russia to pressure Washington into securing the release of convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov. Among those detained was WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia in 2023.

The trilateral negotiations began in Abu Dhabi on November 10, bringing together Ukrainian, American, and Russian representatives to discuss ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. Ukraine’s delegation is headed by Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov and includes Budanov, parliamentary faction leader Davyd Arakhamia, and other senior officials.

Kyiv’s priorities include securing a ceasefire, obtaining reliable security guarantees, addressing humanitarian issues, and establishing a framework for Ukraine’s postwar economic recovery.

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