Russia’s top security agency announced on Thursday that it had arrested a number of suspects accused of involvement in an alleged Ukrainian plot to assassinate senior army officers, an announcement that comes after… A senior Russian general is killed Last week.
The Federal Security Service, a major successor to the KGB and known as Russia’s FSB, said in a statement reported by Russian news agencies that it had arrested four Russians accused of preparing to kill senior Defense Ministry officials.
The Federal Security Service said that those suspected of organizing the attacks were planning to kill a senior officer using a remote-controlled car bomb. She added that another senior military official was scheduled to be assassinated using an explosive device hidden in an envelope. The agency did not mention the names of the military officers who were targeted in the alleged plot.
The Federal Security Service published a video clip showing the arrest and interrogation of the suspects, whose names were not revealed.
This statement comes after the death of Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, who was killed on December 17 when a bomb hidden on an electric motorcycle parked outside his apartment building exploded as he was leaving for his office. Kirillov’s aide was also killed in the brazen attack that Ukraine claimed responsibility for and brought conflict back to the streets of the Russian capital.
FSB has arrested the suspecta citizen of the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan, claimed to have said he was recruited by Ukrainian special services.
Kirillov (54 years old) was the head of Russia’s radiation, biological and chemical protection forces. These special forces are charged with protecting the military from enemy use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and ensuring operations in a contaminated environment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described Kirillov’s killing as a “serious mistake” on the part of the Russian security services, noting that they must learn from him and improve their efficiency.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said so on Wednesday Russia launched a massive barrage of missiles and drones The planes targeted Kiev’s energy infrastructure, struck a thermal power plant, and prompted many to take shelter in subway shelters on Christmas morning.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it carried out a “large-scale strike” on what it said were vital energy facilities in Ukraine that support the work of the military-industrial complex in Kiev.
Reuters added that the Russian attack left half a million people in the Kharkiv region without heat, with temperatures slightly above zero degrees Celsius and power outages in the capital, Kiev, and other places.
The region’s governors said the strikes wounded at least six people in Kharkiv and killed one person in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
In a statement on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than 100 attack drones had been used to strike Ukraine’s energy sources.
Putin deliberately chose Christmas to launch an attack. “What could be more inhumane? They continue to fight for it,” Zelensky said Power outage in Ukraine“.
US President Biden on Wednesday condemned the Russian attack, saying, “The purpose of this terrible attack is to cut off access to heating and electricity to the Ukrainian people during the winter and to endanger the safety of its network.”
