A Russian national has “confessed” to having carried out a car bombing—at Kyiv’s behest—in Moscow last week that allegedly targeted a Russian military officer, according to the Russian authorities.
“From Turkey, Serebryakov was going to Ukraine, where he was promised citizenship,” Ms. Petrenko said in remarks to Russia’s TASS news agency.
On July 24, Russian media reported that a car bomb had gone off in a northern district of Moscow, injuring two people. Russian media broadcast footage showing a man and a woman getting into a Toyota Land Cruiser shortly before the vehicle burst into flames.
A military officer and his wife—whose names have not been released—were both injured in the explosion, according to Russian authorities.
Kommersant, a prominent Russian daily, said the injured man had previously served in the Main Directorate of the Russian military’s General Staff.
In the immediate wake of the incident, Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), said that a Russian national suspected of having carried out the attack had since fled to Turkey.
“We are working with the Turks [for his extradition],” he added.
Hours later, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that Yevgeny Serebryakov, a Russian national born in 1995, had been detained after arriving by plane in Turkey’s southwestern city of Bodrum.
According to Mr. Yerlikaya, the suspect’s arrest was carried out based on a tip from the Russian authorities.
“We persist in our resolute and unwavering fight against terrorists ... both within and beyond our borders,” the interior minister said in remarks carried by local media.
Extradition, ‘Confession’
On July 26, the FSB issued a statement saying that Mr. Serebryakov had since been extradited to Russia from Turkey.The FSB also released video footage showing the handcuffed suspect, escorted by masked police officers, disembarking from a plane from Turkey.
According to the security service, Mr. Serebryakov was detained in Turkey through the collective efforts of the FSB, Russia’s interior ministry, and Turkish intelligence and law-enforcement agencies.
Despite its longstanding membership in NATO, Turkey maintains good relations with Russia, with which it shares extensive commercial ties.
In the taped confession, which was broadcast on Russian media outlets, Mr. Serebryakov claimed to have assembled the explosive device, which he later planted under the targeted vehicle.
He further claimed to have received instructions from a Ukrainian handler, who, he alleges, promised him a substantial financial reward—along with Ukrainian citizenship—in return for carrying out the attack.
Mr. Serebryakov went on to assert that, since early last year, he had been in contact with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
At one point, the suspect said he met with an SBU agent in Istanbul.
According to Russia’s official investigative committee, the suspect had planned to travel to Ukraine from Turkey after the attack, where he had been “promised citizenship.”
The Epoch Times couldn’t independently verify the veracity of Mr. Serebryakov’s assertions in the taped confession, which appeared to be heavily edited.
Kyiv, meanwhile, has yet to officially comment on the Russian allegations.
Since Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in early 2022, several Russian military officials and pro-Kremlin figures have been targeted in car bombings.
In 2022, Darya Dugina, the daughter of an influential Russian political theorist, was killed in a car bomb on the outskirts of Moscow.
While Moscow blamed Ukraine for Ms. Dugina’s death, Kyiv has consistently denied any involvement.
Last year, Vladlen Tatarsky, a Russian war blogger, was killed by a bomb in a St. Petersburg café. That bombing was also carried out by a Russian national who Moscow alleged had been working for Ukraine.
Kyiv has never confirmed nor denied its involvement in the killing of Mr. Tatarsky.
