MOSCOW. April 23 (Interfax) - A Ukrainian citizen has been detained in Lugansk on suspicion of involvement in an assassination attempt on former Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) officer Vasily Prozorov in Moscow, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said.
"A Ukrainian citizen, born in 1995, was detained in Lugansk for his participation in preparations to blow up the former SBU officer's car in Moscow on April 12, 2024 on orders from Security Service of Ukraine chief Vasily Malyuk," the FSB press center said on Tuesday.
According to the FSB, the detained man in 2021 "got acquainted with SBU agent and Ukrainian citizen Khrestina Yaroslava, born in 1995, who relocated to Warsaw following the start of the special military operation."
"Acting on her orders, the detained man conducted video surveillance at his [Prozorov's] place of residence in June 2023 in order to find out where he parked his car, and in April 2024 transferred 10,000 rubles to a courier to pay for the delivery of explosives, disguised as cosmetic goods, from Lithuania to Russia to be used in the crime," it said.
The man "has confessed to the crime and is cooperating with the investigation," the FSB said.
It was reported earlier that a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado owned by Prozorov, who had moved to Russia some time ago, was blown up on Korovinskoye Highway in Moscow on April 12. Prozorov suffered injuries, and the blast also damaged several other cars parked nearby.
The FSB concluded that the assassination attempt was carried out by a Ukrainian Security Service agent on instructions from its chief, Vasily Malyuk.
The FSB also said the explosives, whose components were disguised as manicure tools and haircare products, had been handed over to the Moscow-based Ukrainian Security Service agent via Poland and Lithuania.
Two people were detained as part of the case, the FSB said.
Prozorov worked for the Security Service of Ukraine from 1999 to 2018. He told a press conference in Moscow in 2019 that Ukraine was responsible for the MH17 crash and was involved in the killings of Donetsk People's Republic commanders. He also said foreign security services coordinated the Ukrainian Security Service's work.
The Ukrainian Security Service admitted at the time that Prozorov had indeed worked for it, but had been fired after being found unsuitable for his job.