SBU detains foreign hitman in Odesa over plot to kill senior Navy officer
Attempted assassination attempt on senior Navy official prevented in Odesa, foreigner detained (Photo: SBU)
Ukraine’s Security Service said it thwarted an assassination attempt on a senior Navy officer in Odesa and detained a foreign national recruited by Russia to carry out the killing, the agency said on Apr. 10.
Investigators said that on the day of the attempted attack, the suspect waited near the exit of a residential complex where the serviceman lives, carrying a pistol and loaded magazines.
He pretended to be repairing a bicycle and, wearing a balaclava, waited for the victim’s car, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said.
When the vehicle approached, the attacker threw the bicycle under its wheels and attempted to open fire, but was detained at that moment by counterintelligence officers and an SBU special unit who had been documenting his actions in advance.
The SBU said the suspect is a 37-year-old citizen of a Balkan country recruited by Russian intelligence services. In February 2026, he arrived in Kyiv posing as a tourist and later traveled to Odesa to carry out the assignment, law enforcement said.
There, he received coordinates from his handler to a weapons cache, after which he tracked the movements of the intended target and coordinated details of the attack, the SBU added. To avoid detection, the suspect frequently changed rented accommodation.
Investigators have notified the detainee of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 15 and Part 2 of Article 258 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code (completed attempted terrorist act). He is currently in custody and faces up to 12 years in prison.
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