Attempted assassination attempt on the head of Kherson RMA: SBU details detention of Russian agent

The SBU detained a Russian agent who was guiding Russian drones to the locations of the Defense Forces and the leadership of the Kherson RMA. He was spying on civilian and military targets in Kherson region under the guise of a taxi driver, the special service said on Tuesday, UNN reports. 

Details 

To collect intelligence, the Russian agent reportedly posed as a taxi driver and drove around the city in his own car, in which he installed a hidden video recorder. In addition, he tried to obtain the "necessary" information by starting confidential conversations with his passengers. 

The suspect used a messenger to transmit the information to the occupiers to prepare targeted attacks on the city, using artillery and kamikaze drones.

As noted, the Russian agent was exposed at the initial stage of his intelligence activity. After that, his every step was documented step by step and he was detained while performing an enemy task.

In particular, in the course of the investigation, the SBU learned about the offender's involvement in attempts to assassinate the head of the local RMA. It was established that the occupants tried to shoot at the official's car with a Russian FPV drone using the agent's coordinates and "tips"

The agency said that the drone was equipped with an RPG-7 hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher that was supposed to blow up the vehicle in which the official was traveling.

However, thanks to the SBU and Ukrainian defenders, the drone was neutralized. 

According to the investigation, the detainee is a 55-year-old local resident who worked remotely for the Russian special service through an acquaintance. The man was a former local resident who fled to Russia after the full-scale invasion and began working for Russian military intelligence. 

Based on the collected evidence, SBU investigators served the detainee a notice of suspicion under Part 2 Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The offender faces life imprisonment.

Recall

On April 12, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Malyuk reportedthat the SBU prevented an assassination attempt on the head of the Kherson RMA Oleksandr Prokudin using a hostile drone, which was suspected of being controlled by a local resident who was detained on April 10. 

The head of the Kherson RMA, Oleksandr Prokudin, confirmed the fact of the attempted assassination against him, saying that he was aware of the risks of working in the frontline region.