Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on February 28 that it had thwarted a plot by Ukrainian military intelligence to assassinate Tikhon Shevkunov, a senior priest in the Russian Orthodox Church.
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| In 2023, Father Tikhon Shevkunov was appointed Archbishop of Crimea. (Source: Reuters) |
Kiev has not yet responded to this allegation.
Russian media have long called Father Tikhon Shevkunov "President Putin's confessor," although he has never confirmed or denied this.
The Kremlin has said the two men know each other well.
In 2023, Father Shevkunov was appointed Archbishop of Crimea, becoming one of the highest-ranking officials of the Russian Orthodox Church on the peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
The FSB said it had detained a Russian and a Ukrainian citizen in connection with the plot and seized homemade explosive devices. The agency said the two suspects had confessed to their actions.
The FSB alleges that the two were recruited by Ukraine through the Telegram messaging app and had been planning the assassination since mid-2024, intending to assassinate Father Shevkunov in Moscow.
Since the conflict erupted in 2022, Ukraine has claimed responsibility for several assassinations on Russian territory, including the murder of pro-Moscow blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in April 2023 and the assassination of Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection Service, in December 2024.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nga-tuyen-bo-pha-vo-am-muu-am-sat-linh-muc-cap-cao-cua-ukraine-305892.html
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