Hitman From Balkans who Attempted to Shoot Ukrainian Navy Officer Detained in Ukraine

Ukrainian counterintelligence foiled a Russian attempt to carry out a contract killing of a Ukrainian Navy officer.

The Security Service of Ukraine reported that a Russian agent was caught red-handed following a special operation in Odesa.

On the day of the assassination attempt, the hitman, armed with a pistol, took up a position near the exit of the residential complex where the officer lives.

Pretending to repair a bicycle, the assailant, wearing a balaclava, waited for the car to appear.

When the car approached the exit, the agent threw the bicycle under the car’s wheels and attempted to open fire on the driver.

At that moment, the hitman was detained by a counterintelligence task force and special forces from the Special Operations Center ‘А’ of the Security Service of Ukraine.

“The special services had the suspect under surveillance for a long time and documented his every move,” the SSU reported.

A hitman from the Balkans

The assignment from Russia was carried out by a 37-year-old resident of one of the Balkan countries.

In February 2026, the foreigner arrived in the Ukrainian capital under the guise of a tourist and later traveled to Odesa to carry out the Russian contract.

Upon arriving in the port city, the agent received the geolocation of a hideout from his handler in Russia, from which he retrieved a pistol with a silencer and ammunition.

The suspect then tracked the potential victim’s main locations and routes, after which he coordinated the location of the planned assassination with a Russian intelligence officer.

To maintain secrecy, the hitman regularly changed the addresses of his rented apartments and hotel rooms in Odesa.