Attempt on Interior Minister's life was planned in Russia – Ukrainian security service

"Traces [of the plot] are leading to neighboring Belgorod oblast [in Russia]…We suppose that the talks [on the plot] were carried out namely by the people who live in the territory of Russian Federation, so we can say an attempt on the life of [Avakov] was organized in Russia as well," Tandyt said during the Podrobnosti Nedeli (Week in Details) program on Inter TV channel on Sunday evening. He added that in addition to Avakov, assassination attempts against three other persons were also being planned Tandyt said the SBU has proof of the assassination plans. "We certainly know that one of the scenarios was planned in Belgorod. And we already have preliminary proof," he said. Tandyt said that one person has already been detained. He said that the suspect, together with his brother, hid weapons on the ninth floor of a hostel belonging to a Kharkiv enterprise, "where in fact a half of the floor was privatized." As reported on September 11, a commander of the Slobozhanschyna special police patrol battalion was arrested in Kharkiv on suspicion of being one of the organizers of a group which was plotting the killings of high-ranking police officials, MPs, businessmen and volunteers, the press of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has reported. "The Ukrainian Security Service, along with the main military prosecutor's office, has prevented the assassination of the interior minister [Arsen Avakov] and a number of other contract killings in Kyiv and Kharkiv. As a result of the special operation, law enforcement agencies exposed a criminal group that plotted the killings of high-ranking police officials, an MP, volunteers and businessmen. One of the group's organizers, the leader of the Slobozhanschyna battalion, was detained in Kharkiv today," the SBU press center said. The commander of the Slobozhanschyna special police patrol battalion is Andriy Yanholenko. A criminal investigation has been launched. The battalion's headquarters and Yanholenko's home are being searched. The Slobozhanschyna special police patrol battalion was formed in Kharkiv in April 2014. In June, the battalion was ordered to the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone where it guarded the administrative boundaries of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Since January 2015, the battalion also participated in patrolling areas of Kharkiv.