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FSB agent arrested in Kharkiv for soldier’s murder and planned assassination of regional governor

A suspect detained in Kharkiv was promised $50,000 by Russian intelligence for the assassination of Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

byMaria Tril

08/04/2025

3 minute read

Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Audit Office Credit: Telegram / Oleh Syniehubov

FSB agent arrested in Kharkiv for soldier’s murder and planned assassination of regional governor

Law enforcement officials detained a man suspected of killing a Ukrainian soldier and committing acts of sabotage in Kharkiv.

The suspect also planned to assassinate Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, and Viacheslav Zadorenko, head of the Derhachi City Military Administration, reports the Office of the Prosecutor General (OGP).

According to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect is a native of Yevpatoria who had several previous criminal convictions. He embraced Russian ideology and after moving to Belgorod, Russia in 2015, agreed to cooperate with the FSB and carry out missions in Ukraine.

“In February 2024, he arrived in Kharkiv to complete his first task for the Russians – the murder of a Ukrainian soldier,” prosecutors said. In March, the suspect shot a Ukrainian military serviceman in the back near a high-rise building in Kharkiv. The victim died at the scene.

After the murder, the FSB agent carried out several acts of sabotage on his own initiative. He detonated a grenade near the Shevchenkivskyi district administration building and blew up the entrance doors of a medical examination facility in Kharkiv.

The suspect also attempted to assassinate Viacheslav Zadorenko, head of the Derhachi City Military Administration. In October, he planted explosives under the official’s car, but Zadorenko noticed them and saved his own life.

“The Russian agent planned to blow up the car of the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, for which he was promised $50,000,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Realizing he was being hunted, the suspect postponed this mission. Before attempting to flee, he managed to set fire to two military vehicles in Kharkiv. Law enforcement officers arrested him in late October 2024 as he tried to leave the city by train.

The man has been charged with multiple offenses under the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including treason, premeditated contract murder for profit, sabotage, terrorist acts, and illegal weapons possession. He faces life imprisonment and is currently being held without bail

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