The Zvezda TV channel released a video showing alleged assassins attempting to install a remote-controlled bomb on oligarch Malofeyev's vehicle. The Russian secret service knows the perpetrators, it is said. Parallels are drawn with the death of Darya Dugina.
The Russian domestic secret service FSB says it has foiled an assassination attempt by Ukrainian forces on a pro-government oligarch. The secret service announced that the assassination plans were directed against Konstantin Malofeev. Among other things, the 48-year-old owns an investment fund and a television station that supports Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Accordingly, the assassins tried to place a remote-controlled home-made bomb on the vehicle of the prominent nationalist. A video was published on Zvezda TV channel in which a man approaches a parked car and reaches under the body. A second video shows a robot apparently removing an object from under the vehicle.
Reuters could not independently verify the information. The FSB said Ukrainian security forces were responsible for the assassination attempt. They hired the Russian right-wing extremist Denis Kapustin, who lives in Ukraine. Criminal proceedings were therefore opened against Kapustin.
Kapustin, also known as Denis Nikitin, referred a Reuters request for comment to his superiors at the Russian Volunteer Chorps, which is fighting on the side of Ukraine. The group claimed responsibility for an attack in the Russian town of Bryansk last week. Kapustin's commander said he initially had nothing to say about the current allegations. Ukrainian security agencies also initially did not comment.
Malofeyev said via Telegram that he was fine and would stick to his "patriotic positions". Last year, the daughter of prominent nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin died when a bomb exploded near her vehicle near Moscow. The FSB stated that the procedure in the current case has parallels with the death of Darya Dugina. At the time, Ukraine denied involvement in the crime.
