Ukraine’s security service foiled an alleged plot by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency to use a sabotage group to carry out three assassinations, including that of a prominent Ukrainian activist, the agency said in a statement on Monday. The claims could not be independently verified by Reuters. There was no immediate reaction to Ukraine’s statement from Moscow or Russian state media. The suspects, one a resident of the eastern Luhansk region held by Russian-backed separatists and the other a resident of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, were promised up to $150,000 (£124,000) by Russian operatives to kill each of their targets . said the SBU. The man from the Luhansk region entered Ukraine from Belarus and was arrested in the city of Kovel in northwestern Ukraine along with the Kyiv resident, the statement said. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and security for top officials is extremely tight. The Kyiv government district is cordoned off with checkpoints manned by armed men. Sandbags are piled at the windows and entrances of government buildings. The SBU has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy forced out its head and the prosecutor general last month, citing dozens of cases of cooperation with Russia by officials from their agencies.
