SBU Foils Contracted Assassination of Public Figure in Kyiv Region: FSB Recruited 19-Year-Old Killer via Social Media

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has thwarted an attempt to carry out a contracted assassination of a prominent public figure in Kyiv region. According to counterintelligence data, the elimination operation was organized by Russian special services and was in its final stage of preparation. The perpetrator was detained at the very moment he was preparing an ambush for the attack. The special operation was personally coordinated by the head of the SBU, Major General Oleksandr Poklad.

How the Assassination Was to Be Carried Out: Surveillance, a Dead Drop, and an Ambush in the Forest

The investigation established that an FSB agent had been monitoring the victim's daily routine for a long time, tracking his routes of movement and recording the times of his morning walks. According to the handlers' plan, the killing was to take place during an ordinary walk with a dog in the forest. The perpetrator retrieved a pistol with ammunition and a suppressor from a dead drop — whose coordinates had been passed to him by the Russian special service. Following the handlers' instructions, he was then to spend the night in the woods near the activist's home, and at dawn set up an ambush and shoot the victim several times. SBU officers exposed the plot and detained the killer before the crime could be committed.

Who the Perpetrator Was: Recruitment via Nazi Content on Social Media

The FSB contract was to be carried out by a 19-year-old resident of Mykolaiv, whom the Russian special service recruited after noticing his activity on social media. According to the investigation, the young man had been publishing material in support of fascist and Nazi ideology, which became the basis for his recruitment. After the Russian handlers brought him into cooperation, he was sent to Kyiv to carry out what they considered a "high-profile assassination." During searches, three pistols with suppressors and ammunition were found on the detained man, along with smartphones containing evidence of his collaboration with the FSB.

Who Was to Be Killed: Sources Name the Individual

The SBU's official statement does not disclose the identity of the potential victim, limiting itself to the phrase "public figure." However, RBC-Ukraine sources in law enforcement agencies reported that the person in question is Hennadii Druzhenko — co-founder and president of the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital named after Mykhailo Pirohov, chairman of the board of the Center for Constitutional Modeling, a participant in the Revolution of Dignity, and a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war who took part in fighting in the Srebrianskyi Forest area. Druzhenko himself did not publicly comment on the assassination attempt at the time the material was being prepared.

Criminal Prosecution and Legal Qualification

SBU investigators informed the detained man of suspicion under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 2 of Article 111 (treason under martial law), Part 1 of Article 14 and Item 11 of Part 2 of Article 115 (preparation for an intentional contracted murder), as well as Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal handling of weapons and ammunition). The suspect has been taken into custody. The maximum penalty under the combined charges is life imprisonment with confiscation of property. The special operation was carried out by officers of the SBU Directorate in Mykolaiv region under the coordination of the SBU Counterintelligence Department and the procedural supervision of the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Contradictory Data

The SBU's official message does not name the potential victim, limiting itself to the general description of a "public figure in Kyiv region." At the same time, RBC-Ukraine sources in law enforcement agencies point to Hennadii Druzhenko. Thus, the identification of the specific individual relies on data from media sources rather than on direct confirmation by the SBU. In addition, the statement mentions the position of the head of the SBU as "Major General," which corresponds to Oleksandr Poklad's current status at the time of publication. No discrepancies in dates, figures, or the sequence of events were found between the official statement and the sources' data.

Context: The High-Profile Case in Mila Village

A reminder of another high-profile episode linked to Kyiv region emerged in the same information space: it was previously reported that the head of one of the SBU units had been given suspicion in connection with violations in the storage of ammunition in Mila village, Kyiv region. Following a Russian attack and a subsequent detonation at the site, 35 people died. The figure in that case has already been taken into custody. The combination of these events underscores the heightened attention of law enforcement agencies to security issues in Kyiv region and to the control of weapons circulation under martial law.