(ConservativeJournal.org) – A bizarre assassination attempt in the Ukrainian city of Luhansk on September 3 led to a Russian major-general with the FSB being rushed to the hospital with shrapnel wounds to his neck, head and midsection. The culprit wasn’t a sniper’s round or an IED, but rather a bomb-rigged cell phone.
64-year-old Yuri Afanesevskii remains in intensive care but is expected to survive. The high-ranking Kremlin official is the former head of the Customs Committee for the Luhansk People’s Republic, a Russian-backed breakaway territory in the war-torn country.
Afanesevskii’s son and wife were also injured, though not critically. The 21-year-old lost three fingers in the explosion. While the extent of his mother’s injuries is not known, she is not listed as in the hospital. Both Russian and Ukrainian media outlets are reporting that the bomb was activated as soon as the phone was turned on.
Investigators speaking on behalf of Moscow said that a woman working for Ukrainian intelligence was responsible for delivering the device. According to the Kremlin, the female confessed quickly after being taken into custody. Regional media who claim to have sources inside Ukraine’s national security service say that agents within the organization acknowledged that their agency was behind the failed attack.
The general’s injuries were sustained only one day after another Russian official was assassinated. Alexei Chernykh, who headed an elite police unit, died at the hands of an explosive-laden Ukrainian drone while cutting the grass at his home in Russia.
Afanesevskii was personally sanctioned by a number of national governments after they claimed he was shown to hold financial assets in the Virgin Islands. Western nations have engaged in the sanctioning of Russian oligarchs and elites for years in an effort to destabilize President Putin’s financial power base.
The Kremlin has acknowledged losing six generals to combat or assassination since February of 2022. Ukrainian officials claim that the actual tally inflicted on the Russians is fifteen.
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