Russia’s FSB security service said on Saturday it had thwarted alleged Ukrainian-backed plots to kill two prominent Russian journalists, Interfax news agency reported.
The FSB said it had detained an unspecified number of people on Friday who it said had carried out reconnaissance near the homes and workplaces of Margarita Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which has denied involvement in past assassinations of pro-war figures inside Russia.
Interfax quoted the FSB as saying that the detainees had admitted to preparing attacks on the two women on behalf of Ukraine and had been promised a reward of 1.5 million roubles ($16,620) for each one.
Simonyan, head of state media outlet RT and a vocal supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine, posted a message on Telegram about the alleged plot, urging the security services to “Keep on working, brothers!”
Darya Trepova, who is suspected of the killing of Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin widely known by the name of Vladlen Tatarsky, sits behind in an enclosure for defendants as journalists and law enforcement officers are reflected in a glass wall during a hearing in Moscow, Russia, April 4, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA)Sobchak is a well-known journalist and TV host who also ran as a presidential candidate in 2018.
Past attacks on journalists in Russia
Two prominent pro-war Russian figures, journalist Darya Dugina and military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, have been killed in bomb attacks inside Russia in the past year. Russia blamed their killings on Ukraine, while Kyiv denied that and portrayed them as evidence of Russian infighting.
In May, a prominent Russian nationalist writer, Zakhar Prilepin, was wounded in a car bombing that killed his driver. Investigators said a suspect had been detained and admitted to acting on Ukraine’s behalf.
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