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Russia Alleges Foiled Ukrainian Plot to Assassinate Putin-Linked Orthodox Priest

The FSB claims two men, including a cleric, were arrested for planning to kill Tikhon Shevkunov, a senior bishop and longtime acquaintance of Vladimir Putin.

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Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, newly appointed head of the Crimean Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church, conducts a service at a cathedral in Simferopol, Crimea, October 21, 2023. REUTERS/Alexey Pavlishak/File Photo
Russian Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, known as President Vladimir Putin's confessor, speaking at a news conference on the opening of the Novy (New) Khersones church museum complex in the city of Sevastopol, Republic of Crimea, on July 23, 2024.
Tikhon Shevkunov has become known as “Putin’s confessor” because of his closeness to the Russian president

Overview

  • Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced it thwarted an alleged Ukrainian plot to assassinate Tikhon Shevkunov, a senior bishop in the Russian Orthodox Church and a figure with close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
  • Two suspects, identified as Denis Popovich, Shevkunov’s assistant, and Nikita Ivankovich, a Russian cleric, were arrested in Moscow for their alleged involvement in the plot.
  • The FSB claims the suspects were recruited by Ukraine's military intelligence through Telegram and were provided with an improvised explosive device to carry out the attack.
  • The alleged plan involved planting explosives in the living quarters of Moscow's Sretensky Monastery, where Shevkunov was previously superior, during one of his visits.
  • Kyiv has not commented on the allegations, which follow a pattern of Russia attributing several high-profile assassinations to Ukrainian intelligence since the start of the war in 2022.