Key facts
- Russia's FSB detained 21-year-old Moldovan citizen Nicolae Cociu.
- Cociu is accused of shooting Russian Aerospace Forces general Nikolay Varpakhovich on Sept. 3.
- The officer survived the attack and is hospitalized.
- The FSB claims Cociu was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services via Instagram in 2025.
- Cociu was allegedly offered €70,000 for the assassination attempt.
- The suspect was apprehended while attempting to flee Russia for Moldova.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on September 8, 2026, the detention of Nicolae Cociu, a 21-year-old Moldovan citizen. The agency claims Cociu was involved in an attempted assassination of Nikolay Varpakhovich, a general in the Russian Aerospace Forces and commander of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division, in Saratov Oblast.
According to the FSB, Cociu shot the general six times on September 3. Varpakhovich survived the attack and is currently hospitalized. The FSB alleges that Ukrainian intelligence services recruited Cociu via Instagram in 2025 and offered him €70,000 ($81,300) to carry out the assassination. The suspect reportedly underwent training at a shooting range in Kyiv before traveling to Russia via Estonia in June.
The FSB stated that Cociu was apprehended in Astrakhan Oblast while attempting to leave Russia for Moldova. This incident follows a series of alleged assassination attempts targeting Russian military figures. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and Prosecutor General's Office had previously charged Varpakhovich in absentia for his alleged involvement in Russia's July 8, 2024, attack on Kyiv's Okhmatdyt children's hospital, which killed two people and injured over 50 others.