Russian agent to be tried in Kharkiv for killing Ukrainian soldier and plotting assassination of regional governor – photos

A Russian agent who killed a Ukrainian soldier, carried out sabotage operations and planned to assassinate two senior officials will stand trial in Kharkiv. Source: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office Details: Prosecutors have approved and submitted an indictment to court against a 55-year-old man charged with multiple crimes.

The accused is a native of Yevpatoriia, Crimea, with an extensive criminal record.

He moved to Belgorod, Russia, after 2015. According to the investigation, he embraced pro-Russian ideology and was recruited by Russian intelligence. He signed a cooperation agreement with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to carry out subversive operations in Ukraine-controlled territory.

In February 2024, the agent arrived in Kharkiv. His first assignment from Russian handlers was to kill a Ukrainian soldier. On the evening of 5 March, he shot the soldier in the back near a residential building in Kharkiv.

The serviceman died on the spot.

Acting on his own initiative in the interests of Russia, the agent later sabotaged key sites in Kharkiv. On the night of 26 March, he threw a US-made M67 fragmentation grenade at the Shevchenkivskyi District Administration. The blast caused nearly UAH 2.5 million (approx US£61,200) in damages.

Later, he planted an explosive device on the doors of a local Medical and Social Assessment Board office. The door was damaged and the perpetrator fled the scene, as in previous incidents. One of his next assignments was to assassinate the head of the Derhachi City Military Administration.

He monitored the official's routines and travel routes. In October 2024, he made a radio-controlled explosive device, travelled to Derhachi, and attached the bomb to the underside of the official's car using a magnet. Fortunately, the official spotted the device in time and alerted law enforcement.

The agent also planned to kill the Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration by exploding the vehicle used by the official, for a promised reward of US£50,000. 

However, once he realised he was being hunted by Ukrainian law enforcement, he postponed the assassination. In addition, the agent managed to set fire to two military vehicles in Kharkiv. Law enforcement tracked his movements and detained him in late October 2024 on an electric train while he was attempting to flee the city and go into hiding.

The agent is currently in pre-trial detention with no possibility of bail.

He will be tried in the Dzerzhynskyi District Court of Kharkiv and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!