SBU counterintelligence detains Russian agent in Dnipro responsible for the death of a city council official

Detention after prolonged evasion

The counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine identified and detained a citizen who acted on the orders of Russian special services. The man had been evading law enforcement agencies for over a year and a half after committing a terrorist act in Dnipro.

According to SBU data, the suspect is a local evader who was recruited by enemy intelligence. In April 2025, he blew up the car of the head of the Left Bank Administration of the Dnipro City Council. As a result of this terrorist attack, the official died in hospital from his injuries.

Recruitment mechanism and crime preparation

The investigation established that the man was recruited by an acquaintance living in the temporarily occupied Luhansk. Subsequently, the suspect received an intelligence task to eliminate a Ukrainian official who lived in a neighbouring building.

To thoroughly prepare the terrorist attack, the perpetrator installed a hidden video recorder on the balcony of his apartment. This allowed him to monitor the victim's car and determine the approximate time of his departure from home.

The next stage was receiving coordinates from Russia for a stash from which the agent retrieved an improvised explosive device. On the night before committing the crime, he prepared an explosive based on plasticite, equipped it with a motion sensor, and secured it under the driver's seat of the car.

Detective work and procedural actions

After completing the task, the agent "went to ground" in the regional centre, but SBU counterintelligence officers determined his location and carried out the detention.

During searches, a video recorder and two smartphones were seized from the suspect, which he used alternately to communicate with his handler from Russian special services.

SBU investigators informed the man of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (terrorist act that caused the death of a person). He faces a punishment of life imprisonment with confiscation of property. Currently, the issue of choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention on remand is being resolved.