FSB arrests suspect accused of aiding murder attempt against pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Oleg Tsaryov

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested a 46-year-old Yalta resident on suspicion of serving as an accomplice in the attempted murder of pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Oleg Tsaryov, according to Russian state media.

The FSB alleges that the man organized efforts to surveil Tsaryov on orders from Ukraine’s State Security Service and outfitted a cache with the weapons used in the assassination attempt. The agency said the suspect has confessed to the charges.

On October 27, Russian media reported that Tsaryov had been attacked in Yalta, in Russian-occupied Crimea. In 2022, Ukraine sentenced Tsaryov in absentia to 12 years imprisonment for his role in the Russian-backed separatist movement in 2014–2015. As of October, according to the FSB, Tsaryov’s health status is “satisfactory.”