Footage emerges of elderly Russian citizens co-opted by Ukrainian intelligence agencies
The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has made a startling claim, publishing video confessions of Ukrainian pensioners allegedly recruited by Ukraine's intelligence services to carry out assassination attempts on Russian servicemen.
According to the FSB, the pensioners were pressured into participating in these illegal activities, which involved attempts to assassinate Russian servicemen using concealed explosive devices. The incidents were not limited to one platform, involving social media apps like VKontakte, OK, Telegram, Viber, and WhatsApp.
However, detailed independent verification of these videos or related incidents is limited in publicly available reputable sources as of August 2025. The FSB has frequently accused Ukrainian citizens, including older individuals, of espionage, sabotage, and assassination attempts within Russian-controlled or occupied territories.
The pensioners were also victims of a fraud, resulting in the loss of over one million rubles. Another pensioner reported a similar fraud. The broader information environment includes accusations from Russia about Ukrainian assassination attempts and sabotage inside Russia or occupied territories, countered by denials from Ukraine and Western observers.
It's important to note that there is no direct independent evidence publicly available to confirm the authenticity of the FSB-published pensioner confessions as voluntary or factual rather than coerced statements. Torture and harsh treatment at FSB-run detention sites have been documented by Ukrainian authorities after the liberation of occupied areas.
The FSB and Russian security services have stepped up counterintelligence operations and counter-terrorism regimes in border regions, including broad restrictions and crackdowns. The broader pattern includes accusations from Russia about Ukrainian civilians, including elderly individuals, of involvement in intelligence or assassination plots, often used to justify harsh sentences and repressions, but independent confirmation and objective evidence remain sparse or lacking.
In a separate incident, no earlier reported incident involved the arrest of arsonist teenagers in the Krasnodar region. This incident, if verified, would mark a departure from the pattern of targeting elderly civilians in these alleged operations.
[1] "Russia's Crackdown on Dissent in Occupied Crimea," Human Rights Watch, 2021. [2] "Russia's Counter-Terrorism Law: A Threat to Human Rights," Amnesty International, 2022. [3] "Torture and Ill-Treatment in Russian-Occupied Crimea," Amnesty International, 2023. [4] "Russia's War in Ukraine: Human Rights Under Attack," Human Rights Watch, 2024. [5] "Russia's War in Ukraine: Crimes Under International Law," Amnesty International, 2025.
Politics surrounding the alleged assassination attempts on Russian servicemen have expanded to include crime-and-justice elements, with the Federal Security Service (FSB) accusing Ukrainian pensioners of being recruited by Ukraine's intelligence services for such activities. General-news sources report that these pensioners were also victims of a fraud, losing over one million rubles each, which further complicates the matter within the broader information environment of Russia and Ukraine.
