On September 8, TASS reported that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Russian Investigative Committee arrested a Moldovan citizen named Nicolae Cochu, born in 2004, in the Astrakhan region for being involved in a plot to assassinate a senior Russian military officer.
According to the FSB, Cochu was recruited by Ukrainian special forces in 2025 through a foreign social network. In March 2026, the subject underwent training in mines, explosives and weapons in Kiev. In June, this person entered Russia to carry out the assassination.
According to the plan, after acting, Cochu would return to Moldova, but was arrested while trying to leave Russian territory.
Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said that on September 3, Cochu fired at least 6 shots at a soldier in the Engels district of Saratov region. The victim survived thanks to timely emergency care.
