Russian Security Forces Foil Assassination Attempt Against Crimea's Leader

The Russian security forces have prevented an assassination attempt against the leader of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov. This was reported by the RIA Novosti agency, citing a statement from the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB).

“A citizen of Russia, born in 1988, has been detained. He was recruited by the armed forces of Ukraine and had undergone reconnaissance and sabotage training, including explosives training, on Ukrainian territory,” the press release stated.

The man allegedly planned to blow up Aksyonov's car but was caught while attempting to retrieve the bomb from its hiding place.

The FSB has initiated a criminal case on charges of attempted terrorism and illegal acquisition of explosives.

In May, there were reports about planned terrorist attacks in Crimea that targeted, among others, Sergey Aksyonov, the speaker of the Crimea parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, and the mayor of Yalta, Yanina Pavlenko. The FSB identified the direct organizer of these terrorist acts as the deputy head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, Roman Mashovets.