Russian authorities have arrested two suspects in connection with the assassination of Valery Trankovsky, a high-ranking naval officer, who was killed in a car bombing in Sevastopol, Crimea, on November 13.

Trankovsky, Chief of Staff for the 41st Brigade of Missile Ships and Boats of the Black Sea Fleet, died when an explosive device detonated under the driver’s side of his vehicle. The explosive device, an improvised explosive device, was allegedly placed under Trankovsky’s car by a 47-year-old man and remotely detonated.

The 47-year-old male suspect, Russian media identified as Vitaly Kulchitsky, is a Ukrainian-born resident of Crimea. Kulchitsky was allegedly recruited by the SBU in mid-2023 to carry out targeted assassinations. Russia’s Federal Security Service accuses him of constructing and planting the bomb.

The female suspect, whose identity was not yet made public, was believed to have conducted reconnaissance, tracking Trankovsky’s movements in the days leading up to the attack.

Russian authorities have charged both suspects with terrorism and arms trafficking, and they are reportedly cooperating with law enforcement. A Crimean court has placed Kulchitsky in pretrial detention for two months, while the woman is expected to face similar measures.

Ukrainian officials and sources linked to the SBU have since claimed responsibility for the attack, framing it as part of a broader campaign against Russian military officials involved in the war in Ukraine. Trankovsky is alleged to have overseen Kalibr missile strikes against civilian targets, including a 2022 attack on Vinnytsia that killed 29 people and injured over 200 others.