To investigate this complex criminal case, law‑enforcement authorities in Chișinău and Kyiv have formed a joint investigation team. As a result of coordinated international investigative efforts, Ukrainian authorities have detained another seven Moldovan citizens involved in the assassination scheme, who allegedly accepted the offer made by the recruiter arrested in Chișinău. They were detained following searches in Kyiv and Odesa, during which weapons, equipment, communication devices, and other evidence were seized, TRIBUNA reports.

According to information from the criminal case managed in Chișinău by the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), the intended targets of the assassinations included a well‑known journalist listed as an “extremist” in Russia and wanted by Russian authorities, a senior manager of a strategic state enterprise, active military personnel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, and members of the Foreign Legion operating under the same directorate. In exchange for carrying out the killings, the perpetrators were to receive payments via electronic wallets from the organizer of the criminal group — believed to be located in Ukraine — in order to avoid detection by authorities.

Investigators established that preparations for the contract killings began in December 2025. In the first stage, the detained suspect allegedly convinced two Moldovan citizens to travel to Kyiv to scout the area. There, the two men disguised their activities by posing as food‑delivery couriers. In reality, they gathered information about the individuals targeted for assassination.

In the second stage, also in December 2025, the suspect reportedly received instructions from the leaders of the criminal group to find individuals capable of using firearms. He then recruited 11 identified persons to act as assassins in Ukraine.

Subsequently, following instructions from the suspect and the organizer of the criminal group, the would‑be perpetrators obtained weapons and ammunition. They studied the victims’ travel routes and assigned roles — from shooting to detonating vehicles and carrying out the actual killings. However, they were detained in both Moldova and Ukraine before they could execute the planned assassinations.

The main suspect, acting as recruiter, is a 30‑year‑old man from Chișinău who was previously convicted in Russia for drug trafficking. He was later transferred to Moldovan prisons, where he served his sentence until 2022. Authorities say he maintained contact with coordinators from Russian special services through the Telegram mobile application. The other individuals detained in Moldova include a couple and another young man. In total, the 10 recruited individuals involved in preparing the assassination scheme in Ukraine are aged 19 to 43 and come from Chișinău, Comrat, Orhei, and Tighina (left bank of the Nistru, under an unrecognized local administration). Several had prior criminal records in Moldova, including cases of hooliganism and driving‑related offenses.

PCCOCS prosecutors have now formally charged the four individuals detained in Moldova and are seeking 30 days of preventive arrest to allow the investigation to continue. Under the law, all suspects benefit from the presumption of innocence.

This interstate operation effectively countered hybrid threats, exposed an attempted hostile scenario, and dismantled a dangerous criminal group. Moldovan law‑enforcement authorities, together with international partners, continue systematic efforts to combat organized crime.