Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The officials revelaed images of what they say is a hidden camera, meant to be operated remotely.
Russian authorities say they interrupted a planned killing that they claim would have unfolded quietly among headstones in a Moscow cemetery, The Moscow Times reports.
The alleged operation, according to security officials, relied on an explosive disguised as a harmless gift.
The announcement adds to a string of recent accusations directed at Ukraine’s intelligence network.
Alleged cemetery scheme
According to the outlet, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said its officers uncovered what it described as a plot to kill a Russian state official during a routine family visit to Troekurovsky Cemetery.
In its account, the agency said an object posed as a flower arrangement had been outfitted with an explosive device intended to detonate at the gravesite.
The FSB asserted that Ukrainian intelligence orchestrated the plan, offering no independent documentation to support the claim.
Detentions and devices
A video released by the agency shows three people being taken into custody: a Russian husband and wife and a migrant from Central Asia.
According to the FSB’s Public Relations Center, investigators retrieved phones and other electronics said to contain “correspondence with handlers” on WhatsApp and Signal.
Officials also displayed a camera hidden inside a decorative vase, which they said was designed to be operated remotely.
Suspects’ statements
The Moscow Times noted that one of the detained women allegedly told investigators she received the vase from an unidentified man at Rumyantsevo metro station and was told, along with her husband, to bring it to the cemetery.
The FSB added that the couple had prior convictions and were struggling with drug dependency, but provided no further detail about their alleged roles.
Authorities did not elaborate on the involvement of the third suspect or identify the man who purportedly handed over the vase.
Previous accusation
The announcement follows a separate claim made days earlier, when the FSB said Ukrainian intelligence was preparing to murder Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov), described in Russian media as a spiritual adviser to President Vladimir Putin.
In that case, the agency argued that Kyiv sought to derail U.S.–Russia talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
The FSB offered no explanation for how an attack on a religious figure would influence such diplomatic contacts.
Sources: Reuters, BBC, AP, The Moscow Times
This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation
