Russia has arrested four people on suspicion of plotting to assassinate senior defence officials and their families on Ukraine’s orders, the Kremlin’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said.

Russia's top security agency says that it has arrested several suspects accused of involvement in an alleged Ukrainian plot to assassinate senior military officers.

Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov died in a blast in Moscow a day after he was charged by Ukraine's security services with the use of banned chemical weapons.

The Federal Security Service of Russia said a series of assassination attempts had been foiled. Four Russian citizens have been arrested.

Igor Kirillov, who was named the head of Russia’s nuclear defense forces in April 2017, was under sanctions from several countries including the U.K. and Canada for his role in Ukraine.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it thwarted multiple assassination plots allegedly orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence and carried out by Russian citizens recruited to execute the attacks,