The new details about Moldovan citizens recruited by Russia to commit assassinations in Ukraine. What were the main “targets”
Descendants. PHOTO: R Moldova Police
The General Inspectorate of the Police of the Republic of Moldova, the Ukrainian Police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) presented new details regarding the detention of some suspects on the territory of the Republic of Moldova in a file investigating plans to assassinate several public figures in Ukraine, writes Deschide.md.
Following a large-scale special operation, codenamed “Enigma 2.0”, carried out on the territory of both states, a Russian combat task force was neutralized.
Rewards of up to $100,000 for an assassination
The main “targets” were: Ukrainian journalists and civic activists, the head of a strategic institution, as well as soldiers of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, including fighters of the International Legion within the GUR, according to Deschide.md, cited by Agerpres.
To eliminate potential victims, the suspects were working out various attack scenarios: from “close range” shootings to blowing up cars. For the commission of the murders, the Russian special services promised rewards of up to 100,000 dollars, depending on the status of the person concerned.
According to the Moldovan police, as a result of the joint actions, the leader of the group, a 34-year-old recidivist from the Republic of Moldova, and three people recruited by him were detained. At the same time, seven men aged 19-43 were detained on the territory of Ukraine, from Chisinau, Comrat, Orhei and from the left bank of the Dniester. They have also been criminally investigated in the Republic of Moldova.
The leader of the group, released from a prison in Russia
The investigation determined that the main suspect was recruited by Russian special services while serving time for drug trafficking in a Russian prison. Later, he was transferred to the prisons of Moldova, where he served his sentence until 2022, when he was pardoned by presidential decree.
Thus, law enforcement determined that the preparations for the contract assassinations began in December 2025. In this first stage of the assassination preparation scheme, the alleged leader of the network would have convinced two people from the Republic of Moldova to travel to Kiev for groping the ground.
There, the two recruited men disguised their activity as couriers for a food delivery company. In reality, they would have found out the requested information about the people who would be killed.
In the second stage, also in December 2025, the main suspect would have received from the superiors of the group the indication to find people who can use weapons, which he would have done: he would have convinced 11 people (identified so far) to play the role of assassins in Ukraine.
It was established that they were permanently in contact with the organizer, and the money for the preparation of the attacks was received through cryptographic wallets and bank cards of some foreign financial institutions.
According to available data, the Russian special services intended to use the high-profile assassinations to spread panic and destabilize the socio-political situation in Ukraine.
The suspects face life imprisonment in Ukraine.
The operation was carried out jointly with the SBU Directorate from the Odesa region and the National Investigation Inspectorate of the General Police Inspectorate of the Republic of Moldova, under the procedural coordination of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, notes Deschide.md.
