Two men recruited by Kiev planned an attack on Metropolitan Tikhon in Moscow, the FSB has said

Russian law enforcement operatives have thwarted a terrorist attack against Crimean Metropolitan Tikhon of the Russian Orthodox Church which was ordered by Ukrainian military intelligence, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has said. One of the suspects was Tikhon’s aide, who received threats that his family would be killed if he refused to cooperate.

In a statement on Friday, the FSB said it had arrested a Russian and Ukrainian citizen, who confessed to being recruited in mid-2024 and receiving the explosive device in December 2024 through a dead drop.

They allegedly planned to carry out an attack on Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov), the head of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese, during his visit to Moscow, and intended to flee Russia using forged documents provided by Ukrainian intelligence. The agency also reported that it seized a homemade explosive device and two fake Ukrainian passports from the detainees.

Several Russian outlets also released a video of the Ukrainian suspect, who identified himself as Denis Popovich, saying that had been working as an aide to Tikhon while secretly gathering intelligence on him.

He claimed he was tasked by Kiev with recruiting a co-conspirator for an assassination, adding that he was told that his family would be killed if he refused to cooperate.

According to Popovich, the would-be assassins were ordered to plant explosives in Tikhon’s residential quarters in Sretensky Monastery, one of Moscow’s most historically and religiously significant Orthodox sites.

Tikhon has been described as a close spiritual adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has never confirmed this, insisting that it is up to the Russian leader to reveal who provides him with spiritual guidance. The cleric’s 2011 book ‘Everyday Saints and Other Stories’ is a bestseller in Russia, with over 2 million copies sold.