Russia has accused Ukraine of pushing forward an assassination attempt on the head of what it deems as the ‘Republic of Crimea’, Sergei Akysonov. The said assassination attempt was thwarted, Moscow’s intelligence agency Federal Security Service (FSB) told the state-run TASS agency.
“An assassination attempt organised by Ukraine’s special services targeting the head of the Republic of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, was foiled,” Russian state-run agency TASS reported, citing a statement by the Federal Security Service (FSB).
A video released by the FSB on Telegram showed masked Russian men in army uniform detaining a man who Moscow claimed is the man sent by Ukraine to assassinate the head of the Republic of Crimea. The video, seen by WION, shows Russian forces unpacking a sack bag and a red-coloured container, subsequently described by the Russians as the set up of an “explosive device”.
WION cannot vouch for the authenticity of the video.
“The bomber did not have time to carry out his criminal intentions, as he was detained while extracting the explosive device from its hiding place,” the FSB said.
The law enforcement officials did not give much information about the detained individual. They only disclosed that he was a Russian national born in 1988.
In an interrogation video released by the FSB on Telegram, and seen by WION, the detained man said he was recruited by Ukraine’s Security Service in December 2022 and had undergone training courses on subversive activities and explosives in Ukraine.
Crimean Governor Aksyonov praised the FSB’s “effective” work in preventing the attack.
Russia seized control of Crimea in February 2014 and followed it up with a referendum that it said gave legitimacy to Russian control over the territory. The official result of the referendum in Crimea was a 97 per cent vote for the integration of the region into the Russian Federation. Moscow claimed 83 per cent voter turnout.
The Crimean peninsula has been regularly targeted by strikes and attacks targeting officials that Kyiv and the West deemed pro-Russia in recent months.
During the times of the Soviet Union, the Crimean Oblast was part of the union until the 1954 transfer of Crimea into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Crimea became part of independent Ukraine after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But shortly after, Crimea re-gained its autonomy following a 1991 referendum.
The Ukrainian parliament abolished the 1992 Crimean Constitution and the office of President of Crimea in 1995.
Also watch | Report: Images reveal Russia is fortifying Crimea Peninsula
In 1998, Crimea gained a new constitution, which granted it less autonomy. Notably, any legislation passed by the Crimean parliament could be vetoed by the Ukrainian parliament.
Since 2014, Crimea — on ground — remains part of the Russian Federation despite the West’s attempts at de-legitimising its integration.
