Ukraine 'liquidates' hitman working for Russia's GRU, thwarts plot to assassinate high-profile figures, SBU says

War Ukraine 'liquidates' hitman working for Russia's GRU, thwarts plot to assassinate high-profile figures, SBU says March 24, 2026 5:18 pm • 3 min read Prefer on Google by Yuliia Taradiuk Ukraine has "liquidated" an alleged hitman working for Russia's military intelligence agency , arrested more than ten co-conspirators, and foiled a plot to assassinate several high-profile Ukrainian figures, the Security Service of Ukraine said on March 24. According to the SBU , the "agent-combat group" was planning to assassinate people including Serhii Sternenko , an advisor to Ukraine's Defense Minister and a prominent activist, as well as Ilya Bogdanov, a Russian national who has been fighting for Ukraine since 2014. "Thanks to the SBU. I'm fine. Unlike the hitman. Russia should burn," Sternenko wrote on Telegram on March 24. Sternenko was previously targeted by an assassin in May of last year. The alleged hitman was killed whilst resisting arrest, the SBU said. Become a member – go ad‑free It claimed the alleged perpetrators tracked the addresses and movements of military personnel and public figures, and then sent the data to the group's leader, a forensic expert from the city of Poltava who had been recruited by Russia's GRU . He compiled intelligence and reported to the Russian special services. Russia then passed data on potential victims to the hitman. According to the case file, the killer is a native of the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast , where he underwent combat training at a Russian military base and was later smuggled into territory controlled by Ukraine. He was tasked with manufacturing improvised explosive devices and placing them under cars or near victims' homes. If the explosion failed, the hitman was instructed by his Russian handler to shoot the victims at close range, the SBU said. During searches of the suspects' premises, authorities confiscated firearms, ammunition, voice recorders, computer equipment, and surveillance cameras that held evidence of th...