A former Russian regional customs chief and his son have been injured in an assassination attempt by the Ukrainian security service, according to media reports.
Yury Afanasievsky, who previously headed the customs service in the Lugansk People’s Republic, was identified by Russian and Ukrainian media on Tuesday as the intended target of a plot involving an improvised explosive device.
In a statement, the Russian Investigative Committee did not identify those involved by name but confirmed that the attack had taken place last Sunday, and that a female suspect, a Lugansk resident, had since been apprehended.
The suspect allegedly gave one of the victims a mobile phone containing an explosive charge, according to the statement. The device detonated after the phone was switched on, reportedly injuring Afanasievsky and his son. The committee added that both victims were being treated in hospital, but that their lives were not at risk.
TASS cited regional sources as saying that Afanasievsky’s 21-year-old son had several fingers amputated, and that his father had received only slight injuries.
Ukrainian media cited government sources as claiming that the operation had been organized by the SBU, Kiev’s security service.
Ukrainian outlets also claimed that Afanasievsky was in intensive care with serious injuries. They described him a “major general” and “agent” of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who has been sanctioned by Western nations.
The Lugansk People’s Republic broke away from Ukraine after the 2014 armed coup in Kiev. Russia recognized its independence last year, and agreed to include it as a new region after the population voted for the move in a referendum last September. The Ukrainian government has claimed the ballot was a sham and is seeking to retake the region by force.