Ukraine and Moldova disrupt Russian-backed plot to kill senior figures

Saturday 21 February 2026 - 08:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Ukraine and Moldova disrupt Russian-backed plot to kill senior figures

Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities say they have dismantled a Russian-directed network that was preparing contract assassinations of high-profile Ukrainian officials, military intelligence officers, journalists and civic activists, arresting ten suspects in a coordinated cross-border operation. The joint investigation, codenamed Enigma 2.0, involved Ukraine’s Security Service, National Police and prosecutors working with Moldova’s National Inspectorate of Investigations to identify the group, seize weapons and explosives, and document communications with alleged Russian handlers.

Prosecutors said the suspects were acting on instructions from Russian security services and had drawn up detailed plans for multiple killings, including close-range shootings and car bomb attacks, with promised rewards of up to 100,000 dollars per target depending on the victim’s prominence and public profile. Among the intended victims, investigators named Andriy Yusov, a senior representative of Ukraine’s defence intelligence directorate who oversees strategic communications and prisoner-of-war issues, as well as other military intelligence officers, members of the International Legion, journalists and public figures.

According to Ukrainian and Moldovan officials, the network was built around a 34‑year‑old Moldovan citizen who was allegedly recruited by Russian intelligence while serving a prison sentence in Russia and later sent back to Moldova to assemble an “agent‑combat” structure under Moscow’s control. Investigators say he focused on young men, particularly those with military education, providing them with funding, cover identities and logistics to travel to Ukraine and settle in rented apartments in several regions. Once in Ukraine, the group divided into surveillance and strike teams: some operatives posed as delivery couriers to monitor targets’ homes, workplaces and daily routines, taking photos and videos, while others procured weapons, set up caches and prepared attack plans.

Law enforcement agencies in both countries conducted more than twenty searches, recovering firearms, ammunition, grenades, cash, communications equipment and electronic devices that allegedly contain encrypted chats and other evidence of coordination with Russian handlers, including payments routed via cryptocurrency wallets and foreign bank cards. Seven suspects were detained in Ukraine and three in Moldova, including the alleged ringleader and two of his associates, and they now face charges related to preparing murders for hire and illegal handling of weapons and explosives, with prosecutors seeking pre‑trial detention.

Ukrainian officials say the case fits a broader pattern of Russian efforts to eliminate Ukrainian leadership and destabilize the country, noting that security services have previously reported foiling multiple plots targeting President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior figures since the start of Russia’s full‑scale invasion. Authorities in Kyiv and Chișinău have presented the latest operation as evidence of deepening security cooperation between the two countries and as a warning that Russia’s campaign now extends from the battlefield to covert attempts at political terror and intimidation.