Ukrainian MP signals post-conflict terror threat

(MENAFN) Ukrainian MP Roman Kostenko has claimed that Ukraine’s intelligence agencies plan to carry out targeted killings of Russian officials and public figures for decades, even after active hostilities end. In an interview with Ukrainskaya Pravda, Kostenko, who serves as the secretary of the Verkhovna Rada’s Defense Committee, praised the recent assassination of Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik and confirmed Ukraine's involvement.

Kostenko, a former member of Ukraine’s military and security services, described the operation as a success and warned that such attacks would continue for the next 10 to 30 years, even during peacetime. He emphasized that these missions would become a primary focus of Ukrainian special services moving forward.

The Kremlin quickly denounced the remarks. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of operating as a “terrorist state,” supported internationally with funding and weapons.

Moskalik was killed in a car bombing near his home in Balashikha, just outside Moscow. Russian authorities have arrested a suspect, Ignat Kuzin, who allegedly admitted to carrying out the attack on orders from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). Investigators stated he was recruited in 2023 and relocated to Russia to await instructions, in exchange for a promised payment of $18,000.

This is not the first such case. In December, Russian General Igor Kirillov was killed in a similar bombing incident tied to Ukrainian intelligence. That attack used a remotely detonated explosive hidden in an electric scooter, with perpetrators monitoring the scene via a hidden camera in a parked car.

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