Three detained in Moscow over alleged central terrorist plot
Three individuals, including a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, one of Ukraine, and one of the Russian Federation, were detained in Moscow for allegedly preparing a “terrorist attack” aimed at assassinating a high-ranking Russian military officer, the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) reports.
According to an FSB statement, the attack would have targeted central Moscow using an electric scooter with explosives hidden in the trunk. The vehicle was abandoned near one of the capital’s business centers.
The FSB claimed that detonating the scooter, which allegedly carried “1.5 kg of explosive” in the trunk, could have caused “a significant number of casualties.”
The Russian Federal Security Service released a video in which the three detainees appear to confess, seemingly reading from prepared statements, to the alleged acts.
For example, the Ukrainian citizen, originally from Truskavets in the Lviv region, claims he acted on orders from Ukrainian intelligence services to carry out the “terrorist act.”
Furthermore, the man said to be from the Republic of Moldova states that he met the Ukrainian in December 2025 at a restaurant in Chișinău, where the latter proposed filming activities in Moscow.
“At his instructions, I arrived in Moscow on March 1. He called on April 2 and said I had to conduct a video broadcast in a district at 20:00,” he stated.
The Russian Federal Security Service announced that the investigation continues, including efforts to identify other possible perpetrators of the attempted attack.
In recent years, Moscow has detained several citizens of the Republic of Moldova on accusations of cooperating with Ukrainian or Moldovan services. The FSB publicized these cases, while authorities in Chișinău have partly disputed them.
For example, in April 2025, the FSB announced the detention of two Moldovan citizens and two Russians, claiming Ukrainian services had recruited them to plan bomb attacks in Russian cities.
In June 2025, Russian services reported the arrest of two more Moldovan citizens in Moscow, accusing them of spying for the Information and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova. The FSB claimed the suspects had entered Russia with false documents.
In some cases, Russian authorities released video statements and evidence attributed to the detainees, and the FSB linked certain arrests to recruitment operations in Moldova or to ties with Ukrainian services.
Chișinău responded several times by requesting consular access and calling some accusations unfounded or speculative, while experts warn that such detentions may also serve as tools of diplomatic pressure.
