Ukraine says it foiled Russian plot to assassinate prominent activist near Kyiv

The intended target was Hennadii Druzenko, a Ukrainian civic activist and co-founder of the Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital, Druzenko said on Sept. 10.

According to Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, and the Prosecutor General's Office, the suspect, a resident of the southern city of Mykolaiv, began communicating with an FSB representative through Telegram in July.

Investigators said the teenager had regularly posted material supporting Nazi ideology on the platform and was subsequently recruited by the Russian security service.

The suspect then began monitoring Druzenko's daily routine and movements, prosecutors said. His handler allegedly provided coordinates for a weapons cache containing a pistol, ammunition and a suppressor.

On July 31, the suspect traveled armed to a wooded area in Kyiv Oblast's Vyshhorod district, where a motorcycle had been left for him, according to prosecutors.

He allegedly planned to spend the night there before shooting Druzenko from an ambush on the morning of Aug. 1, while the activist was walking his dog.

SBU officers detained the suspect at the site before the attack could be carried out.

Authorities said searches uncovered three pistols equipped with suppressors, ammunition and smartphones containing evidence of alleged cooperation with the FSB.

Druzenko said the planned attack on him was scheduled for the same day as an assassination attempt against Ihor Obolienskyi, commander of Ukraine's Khartiia Corps. Ukrainian authorities have not publicly established a connection between the two cases.

The suspect remains in custody and faces charges including treason, preparation of a contract killing and illegal possession of weapons. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment.