How the Russian spies tried to assassinate the commander of the famous battalion “Lupii Da Vinci”. “The new tactic”, revealed by SBU
Donetk region, Ukraine-July 31, 2024: Ukrainian soldiers from the “Wolves Da Vinci” Battalion downloads from a truck in the direction of Pokrovsk. PHOTO: Diego Herrera Părcedo / AFP / Profimedia
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has disappointed a plot of the Russians for the assassination of Serhii Filimonov, the commander of the famous Battalion 108, called “Wolves Da Vinci”, SBU announced on Monday, July 29.
The plot was orchestrated by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB), who resorted to tactics of the “fake flag” and psychological manipulation to recruit a Ukrainian citizen, according to SBU.
The battalion “Wolves of Da Vinci”, established during the wave of volunteers since the beginning of the Russian aggression in 2014, has become one of the most effective combat units in Ukraine. Filimonov is a well -known figure among Ukraine's military leadership, notes The Kyiv Independent.
The FSB recruited a local from the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Russian agents presenting themselves as officers of SBU and making the man believe that he would work in Ukraine's interest.
According to SBU, the suspect believed to help kill a Russian collaborator, when, in fact, he was guided to assassinate a decorated Ukrainian commander.
“It is a relatively new tactic of Russian secret services,” said SBU. “FSB has manipulated the patriotic beliefs of an Ukrainian who believed that it helps the Ukrainian security services,” the Agency said.
The FSB agents initially contacted the man through social networks, giving themselves as SBU officers. They falsely stated that the man had bought medicines from a company that financed the Russian army and threatened him with criminal prosecution for high treason.
In order to avoid these manufactured charges, it was offered the chance to “cooperate”, which included travel to Kiev to help surveillance operations. A FSB agent convinced the man that Serhii Filimonov, the commander of the battalion “Lupii Da Vinci”, was a “traitor” responsible for Russian missile attacks on Kiev.
The suspect rented an apartment near Filimonov's residence, watched the vehicle and periodically sent photos to the agent who recruited, without knowing that it helps Russian secret services, says SBU.
The man received a Kalashnikov rifle from a weapon warehouse in Kiev's outskirts and was ordered to execute the murder. SBU agents arrested him before they could act.
The investigators recovered the rifle and the messages exchanged with the FSB agent on the man's phone.
This announcement of the SBU comes after the warnings of the Ukrainian commander, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, specialized in the war with drones, who said that Russia tried a coordinated attack on the leaders of Ukrainian UAVs.
The plot against Filimonov seems to be part of a broader effort of Russia to eliminate key personalities from Ukraine's military leadership through secret operations, notes the Kiev publication.
