Moscow says it foiled Ukraine-led assassination attempt
The Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have foiled an assassination attempt aimed at Konstantin Malofeeva famous oligarch, prepared according to them by a nationalist group led by the security service of Ukraine. “The Russian Federal Security Service thwarted an attack organized by the Ukrainian special services against Konstantine Malofeev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tsargrad Group”said the FSB in a statement.
The FSB claimed that this alleged assassination plan had been prepared by Denis Kapoustine, presented as the founder of a group of “saboteurs” who claimed on social networks an incursion last week in a Russian region bordering Ukraine. According to the FSB, Mr. Kapustin, a Russian far-right activist, “resides on Ukrainian territory and acts under the control of the SBU”, the security service of Ukraine. A survey for “attack”, “involvement in terrorist activities” And “traffic of explosives” was opened against him by the FSB. Agence France-Presse was unable to independently verify these claims.
Konstantin Malofeev, the alleged target, is a billionaire targeted since 2014 by European and American sanctions imposed on Russia for the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. He is the founder of the Tsargrad group, which notably includes a nationalist and conservative television channel. According to the FSB press release, the attack was to be committed using an improvised explosive device placed in Mr. Malofeev’s car.
In August, the FSB had already accused the SBU of having killed Daria Douguina, daughter of a reputed ideologue close to the Kremlin, who died in the explosion of her car near Moscow. The FSB also accuses Mr. Kapustin of having organized and participated in the“infiltration” Ukrainian in the Briansk region (South-West), bordering Ukraine, which left two dead and one injured, according to Moscow. The Ukrainian presidency denied this information, seeing it as a “deliberate provocation” which aims, according to her, to justify the military offensive that Moscow has been carrying out in Ukraine for more than a year.