Assassination of Xu Shaoyong and Yuri Golitsyn

At 16:51 CST on October 1st 2049, Xu Shaoyong and Yuri Golitsyn were assassinated when a security drone fired a missile at Xu’s helicopter as it was touching down at Beijing Daxing International Airport, killing everyone aboard. The presence of Golitsyn in the helicopter was not known until October 2nd 2049. It is currently unclear whether Xu, Golitsyn, or both men were the target of the attack.

Chinese authorities are treating the assassination as a cyberattack that compromised the drone to fire a missile at Xu’s helicopter. A joint investigation between the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has established a strong link to Efua Amankwah-Crouse, who is believed to be Adira.

AttackPermalink

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On October 1st 2049, Xu Shaoyong was due to arrive at Beijing Daxing International Airport at 17:00 CST to greet international dignitaries and other officials arriving for the centenary celebrations of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Xu’s private helicopter was coming in for landing on the west side of the airport when a nearby security drone banked away from its patrol route and fired a single missile, which struck the left side of the helicopter’s passenger compartment at 16:51 CST. ^[1]

The impact and resulting explosion detonated the helicopter, which killed everyone aboard. The wreckage then crashed to the ground from a height of 20 metres. Members of Xu’s welcoming committee and airport staff attempted to approach the helicopter wreckage, but had to retreat due to the heat and flames. Two crash tenders were immediately deployed and managed to extinguish the fire at 17:08 CST.

All of the airport’s security drones were immediately grounded by the local detachment of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which operates the drone fleet. The drone that fired the missile, which was closest to Xu’s helicopter at the time of the attack, abandonded its post-fire holding pattern after 34 seconds and touched down near the entrance of a PLA hangar, where a team of soldiers was seen carrying it inside at 16:57 CST.

Between 17:00 and 18:00 CST, Daxing airport was evacuated, all incoming flights were rerouted, and the area around the crash site was cordoned off, with PLA soldiers cautioning fire and rescue crews away from the helicopter wreckage. An investigative team from the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) arrived at 18:25 CST and reportedly clashed with PLA officials after initially not being allowed past their cordon of the crash site. ^[2] A canopy was erected to cover the wreckage at 19:15 CST.

At 21:15 CST, senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials ordered Daxing airport to resume operations to avoid further disruptions to the scheduled arrivals and departures for the PRC centenary.

InvestigationPermalink

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A joint investigation between the PLA and the MPS is currently treating the incident as a cyberattack. According to a statement from the PLA, the drone’s IFF system was compromised to match Xu’s helicopter to the threat profile of an unauthorised UAV entering the airport’s perimeter and ignoring repeated warnings to turn back. The missile was then fired without authentication from the drone’s human operator. ^[3] A PLA spokesperson later added that the UI for the drone was switched from Mandarin Chinese to English before it was used in the attack.

At 10:00 CST on October 2nd 2049, MPS Police Commissioner General Ren Yinpeng held a press conference to announce that a suspect had been taken into custody and subsequently released, and that there is “a strong link” to Adira. ^[4] PCG Ren also confirmed that only the bodies of Xu, Golitsyn, and the pilot had been recovered from the helicopter wreckage. This came in response to a report that mentioned four bodies based on a comment from an airport official.

During the press conference, PCG Ren introduced Wei Kailiang as investigative lead, who added that the joint investigation is coordinating with Zhupao officials to determine the origin of the cyberattack. Wei stated that the drone’s G6-linked systems were compromised at 16:50 CST on October 1st 2049, with the source of the intrusion identified as an Omnius work terminal being used in Chennai, India. An Omnius spokesperson stated on October 2nd 2049 that the company is “working at all levels with Chinese authorities,” confirming that one of its contractor accounts had been “improperly used.”

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PCG Ren did not name the arrested suspect by name, but the announcement from Omnius inadvertently led to their identity being confirmed as Hong Lian, an Omnius contractor who had been arrested in Chennai by the National Security Guard on behalf of Chinese authorities. Hong was subsequently released, though her disappearance on October 3rd 2049 led to a renewed focus in the investigation, with PCG Ren stating that it “could not have succeeded without the aid of powerful parties with access to substantial resources.”

PRC President Chen Baoqiang has publicly requested Hong’s extradition to China, which led to criticism from Indian Prime Minister Jagrati Thass, who reacted by stating that she would “intervene on [Hong]’s behalf,” and that she had not been made aware of the police action in Chennai. ^[5]

Ziyan UAV, the company that manufactures the type of drone involved in the attack, issued a statement in the evening of October 1st 2049 to disclaim any responsibility for the attack, stating it was impossible for the drone to have “autonomously selected a civilian helicopter as a hostile.” ^[6] Ziyan UAV has previously faced scrutiny for a string of incidents involving drones engaging their own targets, resulting in numerous casualties and injuries.

On October 3rd 2049, Omnius issued a statement to clarify the nature of the cyberattack, explaining that “the request for human authorisation to fire the drone missile did not originate from the terminal of an Omnius contractor. It was inserted as a ticket by an unknown source and sent by a routing algorithm to the contractor, who then marked the ticket as resolved, presumably without looking at its contents.”

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At 14:00 CST on October 4th 2049, Wei appeared during an MPS press conference to announce that the joint investigation with Zhupao uncovered a direct link to Efua Amankwah-Crouse, confirming that “she is herself Adira, or had enlisted their services for the attack.” With confirmation that she has gone into hiding, Interpol served a Red Notice for the international arrest of Amankwah-Crouse on October 7th 2049. ^[7]

On October 8th 2049, Amankwah-Crouse issued a livestream from a rental flat in Dharwad, during which she denied any involvement in the assassination. She has subsequently been arrested and transported to Mumbai, where she is due to be processed by an Interpol response team. There has been no confirmation on a possible connection between Amankwah-Crouse’s presence in Dharwad and the reports of unauthorised drone activity in the area.

Yuri GolitsynPermalink

On October 2nd 2049, Russian state authorities confirmed that one of the bodies recovered from Xu’s helicopter belonged to Yuri Golitsyn. ^[8] According to Golitsyn’s staff, he had abruptly cancelled his plans to attend the PRC centenary and recalled his advance team, which had been present in Beijing since September 30th 2049. It is not known how Golitsyn was able to remain undetected or board Xu’s helicopter, though witness reports claim it made an unscheduled stop during its flight from Zhupao’s Beijing headquarters. ^[9]

On October 7th 2049, a Russian probe into Pokrov‘s recent activities indicated that Golitsyn had travelled to China along with his advance team, which he had concealed by making it seem like he was communicating from the Pokrov complex in Innopolis. Amateur and CCTV footage obtained in Beijing suggests Golitsyn made use of experimental baffle technology to move between vehicles unseen and board Xu’s helicopter during its unscheduled stop.

On October 8th 2049, a livestream issued by Amankwah-Crouse in Dharwad revealed the death of Matvey Kozlov, who served as Golitsyn’s bodyguard and was previously believed to have been aboard the helicopter with him. Amankwah-Crouse claimed to have killed Kozlov in self-defence after he murdered Connie Muren, who was also present in Dharwad. It remains unclear whether this incident is related to the assassination.

International responsePermalink

President Chen was quickly ushered away from an official function when news of the assassination broke. He has vowed “swift and bloody revenge on those responsible. [China]’s spirit cannot be broken, and those who would try will come to regret their deeds.” Despite assurances from the CCP, many international leaders left the PRC centenary celebrations to stay in their hotel rooms or embassies. ^[10]

United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Maria Cardoso appeared at a press conference at 22:00 CST on October 1st 2049, urging calm and pledging “the full support of her office.” ^[11] On her behalf, Interpol reached out to the MPS but has not received a reply, which has been attributed to ongoing tensions between Interpol and China. On October 6th, 2049, Zhupao extended a formal invitation to assist Interpol with the hunt for Amankwah-Crouse “by any means necessary.”

Russian President Denis Molchalin, who was in Beijing for the PRC centenary, had returned to Russia before the news of Golitsyn’s presence aboard the downed helicopter broke on October 2nd 2049. He is currently in talks with the CCP to coordinate their countries’ responses, with plans to send an investigative team to Beijing. ^[12] On October 4th 2049, Oleg Golitsyn chided President Molchalin for making no headway in his dialogue with the CCP, accusing him of “deliberately dragging his feet” due to his adversarial relationship with Golitsyn.

The ongoing frictions between the Russian and Chinese governments are seen as responsible for the lack of cooperation on the investigetion into the sabotage of the Power of Siberia 3 pipeline and Russia’s refusal to join China’s veto of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote to declare South Korea a neurocarceral state.

Second Advent has begun to incite violence across the United States (US) in response to the death of Xu, resulting in 408 deaths and the destruction of G6 hubs in Indiana and Washington. Second Advent adherents have proclaimed John Patmos as the perpetrator of the assassination, calling it “a righteous action against the Antichrist.” US President Thurston Pollard has declared a nation-wide state of emergency in response to the ongoing violence.

On October 4th 2049, Venezuelan President Milagros Soto spoke at a press event to express her “shock and consternation over this tragic event. While it is certainly too early to speculate about the precise causes, we certainly hope that it is not an indication of difficulties in G6, and send profound condolences to the families of those affected.”

See alsoPermalink

• Xu Shaoyong
• Yuri Golitsyn

ReferencesPermalink