Putin Wanted Kyiv’s Top Officials Killed, Ukraine Alleges $100,000 Bounty Plot

Last Updated:February 22, 2026, 09:45 IST

Kyiv and Moldova arrested 10 suspects for plotting assassinations of Ukrainian leaders on Moscow’s orders.

Kyiv has said that 10 people were arrested in Ukraine and Moldova on suspicion of planning to assassinate senior Ukrainian leaders on Moscow’s orders, with promised payouts of up to $100,000.

Ruslan Kravchenko, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, said a joint investigative team of Ukrainian and Moldovan law enforcement agencies uncovered an organised group preparing contract killings of well-known Ukrainian citizens and foreign nationals, news agency AFP reported.

“As part of the work of a joint investigative team of Ukrainian and Moldovan law enforcement officers, an organised group has been exposed that was preparing contract killings of well-known Ukrainian citizens and foreigners," Kravchenko said in a statement.

He said that authorities conducted 20 searches and seized cash, weapons, explosives and evidence of communications with alleged Russian handlers. Seven suspects were detained in Ukraine, while three others — including the alleged organiser — were arrested in Moldova.

Moldovan officials confirmed the joint investigation into what they described as a plot aimed at the “physical liquidation of several public figures in Ukraine." There was no immediate response from Moscow to the allegations.

Kyiv named one intended target as Andriy Yusov, a senior official responsible for strategic communications in the Ukrainian military and for coordinating prisoner exchanges with Russia.

Kravchenko said the alleged perpetrators were promised payments of up to $100,000, depending on the prominence and influence of the intended victim.

The case adds to a broader series of investigations across Europe into alleged Russian-linked operations targeting Ukrainian officials since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Kyiv has previously accused Russia, which invaded Ukraine four years ago, of plotting to kill several senior officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the head of Ukraine’s intelligence service. Moscow, in turn, has accused Kyiv of orchestrating assassinations of military and political figures in Russian-controlled areas.

(With inputs from agencies)

News world Putin Wanted Kyiv’s Top Officials Killed, Ukraine Alleges $100,000 Bounty Plot

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