Ukraine’s SBU says it thwarted FSB plot to assassinate Russian opposition figure

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced that it worked with the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of the Defense Ministry to foil an assassination plot targeting a Russian opposition figure.According to a statement from the SBU cited by RBC Ukraine, Russia’s Federal Security Service had planned to kill the opposition figure during his visit to Kyiv for Ukraine’s Independence Day, marked on August 24.The SBU did not name the target of the plot or disclose further details.Ukrainian media identified the target as Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the the Russian Volunteer Corps. The group announced on September 1 that Kaplunov had disappeared outside his home several days earlier and that his whereabouts remained unknown.In December 2025, the Russian Volunteer Corps announced the death of its commander, Denis Kapustin. However, it later emerged that Kapustin was alive, and that reports of his death had been spread as part of an operation by Ukrainian intelligence services.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.