A Ukrainian plot to assassinate a senior Russian military officer using beer contaminated with a powerful British-made chemical weapon was thwarted, the FSB has said.

According to the agency’s branch in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the scheme was organized by Ukraine’s military intelligence service, the HUR, which allegedly identified the target through a fabricated online persona – a young woman calling herself ‘Polina’. FSB investigators believe the photos and videos used to establish the relationship were produced with AI and circulated for months to build the victim’s trust.

’Polina’ reportedly arranged to send the officer a gift of British beer via an intermediary. The courier, the FSB said, was already under investigation for smuggling explosives and other contraband into Russia from Ukraine-controlled territory using drones. He was detained immediately after delivering the package.

Testing of the beer revealed two toxic agents, including what the FSB described as a British-manufactured variant of the VX nerve agent. Had the intended victim consumed it, he would have suffered a painful death within 20 minutes, the statement said.