Moscow Claims to Have Foiled Ukrainian 'Conspiracy' to Assassinate Russian Officials

Russia claims to have thwarted a Ukrainian 'conspiracy' to assassinate senior officials in Moscow. The state-owned Russian company that owns the sanctioned ship that sank while en route to Syria this week described the incident as a 'terrorist plot.' The Russian intelligence agency announced on Thursday that four individuals were identified and arrested, who were 'agents dispatched by Ukrainian security agencies to attempt to assassinate senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense.' At least two of these individuals are citizens of Russia. The Federal Security Service (FSB) released a video of the arrests, claiming that the suspects confessed to being on a mission from Ukraine to plant explosives aimed at killing military personnel of the Ministry of Defense and their family members. The FSB stated that these individuals intended to place a concealed homemade bomb in the vehicle of one of the senior officials and also install another bomb with a magnet on the vehicle of another high-ranking official. If convicted, these individuals could face life imprisonment. Russia vowed to take revenge for this 'terrorist plot' by Ukraine. Russia holds Ukraine 'responsible' for a series of assassinations of its senior officials aimed at undermining the morale of its military and people, claiming that the West supports the 'terrorist regime of Ukraine.' General Igor Kirilov, the highest commander of Russia's nuclear and biological weapons, was killed in an explosion near his home on December 18. The bomb was planted in an electric scooter. Ukraine insists that Russia's invasion of the country is a vital threat and considers targeting Russian officials a 'legitimate' approach. The Russian cargo company 'Abaron Logistica,' which owns the sanctioned ship that sank, reported that three consecutive explosions sank the vessel while it was en route to Syria in the Mediterranean Sea. The 'Orsa Major,' one of Russia's largest bulk carriers, sank on Tuesday in waters between Spain and Algeria. Russia stated that the explosions capsized the ship. However, no party has claimed responsibility for the incident. The ship had departed from St. Petersburg days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and was supposed to transport additional Russian forces and military equipment from Syria to the port of Tartus in western Syria. Two of the 16 crew members died in the sinking. Russia, which was an ally of Bashar al-Assad and has two naval and air bases in Syria, has transferred some of its equipment and personnel from Syria to Libya following the rise of the rebels. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, announced that the contract for the transfer of Russian gas through Ukraine to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Austria has not been renewed. The Russian President stated on Thursday at the Eurasian leaders' summit that they announced they would not renew the contract, and it is impossible for Kyiv officials to renew it in the remaining days before the contract expires. The current five-year contract for the transfer of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe will expire at the end of this year. Until the late last decade, about 90 billion cubic meters, or half of Russia's gas exports to Europe, were transported through Ukraine, but in recent years, the volume of transit has decreased, and this year it was only 15 billion cubic meters. Putin stated that Russia is ready to send gas through Ukraine to any customer, but a legal dispute has made this impossible. Despite sanctions against the Kremlin for its military invasion of Ukraine and the goal of halting energy purchases from Russia by 2027, the European Union has increased its gas purchases from the country this year. Besides Ukraine, Europe receives Russian gas through the Yamal pipeline (via Belarus) and the TurkStream (via Turkey).