The investigative journalism group Bellingcat says a probe into the 2019 killing of a former Chechen separatist commander in Berlin shows that the attack was planned and organized by Russian FSB.

In a report following a monthlong probe, Bellingcat said it found that preparations for the killing of Khangoshvili were supervised directly by Eduard Bendersky, chairman of the Vympel Charitable Fund for Former FSB Spetsnaz Officers, and other senior members of the fund.

Bellingcat said phone metadata it obtained shows that a plot to kill Khangoshvili with Krasikov as the assassin “was in the works no later than March 2019”.

Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was shot dead in broad daylight in a Berlin park on August 23 in a case that has prompted political fallout between Berlin and Moscow - including tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats - after Germany said evidence suggests either the Russian government or authorities in the Russian North Caucasus region of Chechnya likely ordered the killing.

Moscow denies the allegations of the German government.