The bike didn't help: the "tourist" hitman failed the Russian handlers' special assignment
The assassin had already taken aim: the SBU foiled an attempt on a Navy officer at the last second
The Security Service of Ukraine reported April 10, 2026, that counterintelligence together with the SBU Directorate in Odesa Oblast prevented a contract killing of a senior official of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The special operation took place in Odesa, where law enforcement officers detained a Russian agent directly while preparing for the attack.
According to the investigation, the perpetrator was a 37-year-old foreigner from one of the Balkan countries, who had been recruited by Russian intelligence services. In February 2026 he arrived in Ukraine posing as a tourist, after which he traveled to Odesa to carry out the task.
Before the attempt the agent received the coordinates of a weapons cache — a pistol with a silencer and ammunition. He then tracked the routes of the Ukrainian serviceman and coordinated the attack location with his handler. For concealment he constantly changed rented apartments and hotels.
On the day of the attack the assailant took up a position near the exit of the residential complex where the officer lives. He disguised himself, pretending to repair a bicycle, and waited for the serviceman’s car to appear. When the car approached, the killer threw the bicycle under the wheels and tried to open fire.
At that moment he was detained by counterintelligence officers and fighters of the special unit CSO “A”, who had been documenting his actions for a long time and controlled every stage of the crime’s preparation.
The suspect has already been notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Art. 15, Part 2 of Art. 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — a completed attempt to commit a terrorist act.
The detainee is currently in custody; he faces up to 12 years of imprisonment.
The operation was conducted under the procedural supervision of the regional prosecutor’s office.
Earlier we wrote:
- Internet recruitment ended in handcuffs: a 21-year-old terrorist was detained in Bucha
- Explosive under a car’s floor: in Odesa a man was injured during a terrorist attack – the perpetrator was detained within a day
- Deadly “series”: in Mykolaiv investigators are handling the case of an agent of the Russian Federation who attempted to assassinate a high-ranking serviceman
- The attack was planned via Mykolaiv region: the SBU detained an FSB hitman
- The SBU foiled an FSB terrorist attack: a Ukrainian serviceman was to be blown up on a staged “date”
