From escort websites to alleged assassin? Russian beauty held over Crimea naval officer killing

MOSCOW: A former Ukrainian naval officer who defected to Russia after Moscow seized Crimea in 2014 was killed in a bomb blast in Sevastopol on Thursday, with a 32-year-old Russian woman arrested in connection with the attack. The officer was identified in Russian media reports as Robert Shageyev, who had commanded Ukraine's only submarine, Zaporizhzhia, before defecting to Russia. An explosive device hidden inside a rubbish bin detonated as he passed by, killing him at the scene.

Russian authorities identified the detained woman as Margarita Reutt and accused her of carrying out the attack on the instructions of Ukrainian special services. The Kremlin-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said investigators had established that she acted on Ukrainian instructions. Ukraine has not publicly claimed responsibility for the attack. The Federal Security Service (FSB) said Reutt was detained in connection with the killing. Russian media reported that she confessed to involvement in the bombing and had planned to leave Russia after the attack. Media outlets have also reported that Reutt had previously worked as an escort.

Shageyev joined the Russian Black Sea Fleet after defecting in 2014. Ukrainian authorities had previously accused him of treason over his defection. He later reportedly served as deputy commander of a Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine brigade.

The blast occurred in Sevastopol, the home port of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Local residents initially believed the explosion may have been caused by a Ukrainian drone attack, but investigators later said an explosive device had been concealed inside a rubbish bin.

Reutt had previously been fined by a Russian court for allegedly discrediting the Russian military. Russian court records and media reports said the case stemmed from remarks she allegedly made on a Samara-Adler train in July 2025 following a Ukrainian drone attack. She was reportedly detained for two days and fined 30,000 roubles. A Russian court has since ordered Reutt to be held in pre-trial detention for two months on terrorism-related charges, according to reports.