National Police: Group, planning assassinations of Ukrainian officials commissioned by Russia, exposed

As part of Operation Enigma 2.0, the National Police of Ukraine detained an intelligence group that, according to investigators, planned the assassinations of Ukrainian media and political figures commissioned by Russian intelligence services.

"To carry out the orders of the Russian Federation’s special services, Moldovan citizens were recruited, who were then sent to Ukraine to carry out targeted assassinations," the agency’s website said on Friday.

Once in our country, they collected detailed information on potential "targets": places of residence and work, travel routes, locations, and also developed possible assassination methods. They then awaited instructions from their handler, who maintained contact with Russian intelligence officers.

It has been reliably established that among the individuals targeted for liquidation were a well-known journalist, listed as an "extremist" in Russia and wanted by the police, a senior official at a state-owned strategic enterprise, active military personnel from the Main Intelligence Agency (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, including members of the Foreign Legion of the Main Intelligence Agency and the Special Operations Forces, as well as a public activist, a native of the Russian Federation, who had taken a pro-Ukrainian stance.

"According to the enemy intelligence services, the purpose of these high-profile murders was to sow fear, demoralize society, create a sense of insecurity, and destabilize the internal situation in Ukraine," the National Police noted.

Operatives from the Department of Strategic Investigations, together with investigators from the Main Investigation Department of the National Police, counterintelligence officers from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), and the National Investigation Inspectorate of the General Police Inspectorate of the Republic of Moldova, exposed the activities of an intelligence network. The Department of International Police Cooperation of the National Police coordinated the international cooperation. As a result, an agreement was signed to establish a joint investigation team (JIT).

The organizer and coordinator of the intelligence-combat group was reportedly a 34-year-old Moldovan citizen.

"According to available information, he previously served a sentence in the Russian Federation, where he was recruited by the security services. Upon returning to Moldova, he supported a pro-Russian group whose activities were aimed at destabilizing the country and organizing mass protests in 2022-2023," the message reads.

The suspect established a hierarchical structure and recruited compatriots under the age of 25 as assistants. They recruited young men, primarily those studying at military academies, to carry out tasks for enemy intelligence services abroad. They also handled their transportation to Ukraine, their accommodation, their financing, and the creation of a cover story.

Some participants, using covert means, including posing as couriers, monitored the "targets," took photographs and videos, and collected information about their daily routines, routes, residences, and security levels. Others were responsible for acquiring weapons, organizing hiding places, maintaining cover, and preparing assassination methods, from executions to bombings.

Communication between the participants was reportedly conducted through secure channels. To complicate financial transaction tracking, money transfers were conducted through cryptocurrency wallets. Representatives of the Russian Federation’s intelligence services offered rewards of hundreds of thousands of dollars for contract killings. For example, the Russian intelligence services promised a $100,000 payout for the assassination of a career officer of the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense.

To prevent the criminal plans from being carried out, law enforcement officers conducted a coordinated special operation on the territory of the two states.

On February 19, officers of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and the Main Investigation Directorate of the National Police, together with officers of the National Investigation Inspectorate of the General Police Inspectorate of the Republic of Moldova, under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases of the Republic of Moldova and with the participation of the Fulger special forces unit, conducted joint activities on the territory of Moldova.