
The Russian security services (FSB) recently announced that they have arrested two members of the clergy suspected of plotting the assassination of a high-ranking member of the Russian Orthodox clergy, close to President Vladimir Putin.
A Ukrainian intelligence agency behind the alleged coup?

According to the FSB, it would be a coup orchestrated by a Ukrainian intelligence agency.
Putin's 'Confessor'

The target, a 66-year-old priest named Tikhon Shevkunov, has been described by Russian media for several years as Vladimir Putin’s “confessor.” According to them, he has maintained a public relationship with Putin since the late 1990s.
Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea

In 2023, Shevkunov was appointed Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ukrainian intelligence services deny the accusation

Andriy Yusov, a member of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, denied that Kyiv was behind such a plot and called these accusations “false.” “We fight by the rules — the rules of war and international norms,” he stated.
The Kremlin Condemns the Plot

For its part, the Kremlin condemned the alleged plot: «It is clear that the Kyiv regime does not shrink from anything. In this case, nothing is sacred. This has been confirmed once again,» stated Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin.
A Russian and a Ukrainian

The FSB reports that this attack was to be carried out by a Russian cleric and a Ukrainian cleric. Nikita Ivankovich is a Russian cleric from a church in Moscow, while Denis Popovich is a Ukrainian who works as an assistant to Tikhon Shevkunov. They were arrested in Moscow.
Recruited via Telegram?

These two men are said to have been recruited for the crime in 2024 via Telegram messaging, according to the FSB.
Videos of the two men confessing to the plot

Authorities have released videos of the two men hesitantly admitting to the plot. Reuters reports that the circumstances under which these confessions were obtained are unclear.
Death threats against relatives

Popovich stated that he was recruited to track Shevkunov’s movements and to find an accomplice to eliminate the metropolitan. He claimed he was threatened with death against his relatives if he did not cooperate.
A homemade bomb provided by Ukrainian intelligence services

Ivankovich revealed that Ukrainian intelligence services gave a homemade bomb to him and his accomplice. The two men were supposed to place it in the apartment of Tikhon Shevkunov in Moscow.
A video from the FSB

A video from the FSB shows investigators recovering a box as well as two fake passports from a hideout in the woods.