Moldova jails three suspects in plot to carry out contract killings in Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine
A court in Chișinău
ordered three people held for 30 days pending charges after they were arrested
on suspicion of plotting contract killings in Ukraine, Moldovan authorities said on Feb. 20.
Local outlet Newsmaker reported the announcement, citing the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime.
The Chekany district court approved 30-day pretrial detention for the three suspects, according to the report. Another suspect remains under investigation as law enforcement continues the probe.
Prosecutors said the planned targets included a well-known Ukrainian journalist listed by Russia as an “extremist,” the head of a strategic state enterprise, and servicemen of the Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), including foreign volunteers fighting in the Ukrainian military.
Investigators say the assassins were to be paid via electronic wallets by the suspected ringleader. The operation’s preparation began in December 2025.
According to prosecutors, the plot unfolded in stages. In the first stage, one suspect persuaded two Moldovan nationals to travel to Kyiv to scout locations, disguising their activity by working as delivery drivers. They collected information about the planned victims.
In the second stage, also in December 2025, the suspect was ordered to find people skilled in handling weapons and recruited 11 others. Under his direction, the group purchased weapons and ammunition, studied the victims’ travel routes, and prepared for the attacks. Authorities arrested suspects in both Moldova and Ukraine before any killings could be carried out.
The main suspect, a 30-year-old native of Chișinău, was previously convicted in Russia for drug trafficking. After serving his sentence there, he was transferred to Moldova and served time until 2022, prosecutors said. They added he maintained contact with Russian intelligence via Telegram.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko previously
said Ukrainian and Moldovan law enforcement uncovered an organized group that
was preparing contract killings of prominent Ukrainian figures, including HUR
spokesman Andriy Yusov, as well as journalists and civic activists.
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