Ukraine’s security services said on Tuesday they had foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior military and political figures. Two Ukrainian colonels accused of involvement in the plot were arrested on suspicion of treason.
Ukrainian domestic intelligence agency SBU said in a statement The plot involved a network of agents – including two colonels – run by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor agency to the KGB. According to Ukrainian agencies, agents working under Russian direction were tasked with identifying people. Someone close to Zelensky’s security detail could take him hostage and then kill him.
The agency’s statement said other senior Ukrainian officials targeted in the plot included SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk and the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, Gen. Kyrylo Budanov. ). Ukraine’s claims could not be independently verified.
This is not the first time Ukraine has reported a potential assassination attempt against its top leader.Mr Zelensky himself said in a statement interview Earlier this year, an Italian TV channel said his security services told him there had been more than 10 such attempts.
Ukrainian security services have provided few details about previous assassination plots. But this time, the agency went to considerable lengths in its statement to describe how it killed Ukrainian officials.
The department said the two colonels involved in the plot were part of the National Security Agency, which protects senior officials. The statement said they were recruited ahead of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The statement noted that three FSB members – Maxim Mishustin, Dmytro Perlin and Oleksiy Kornev – were Moscow is responsible for the operation.
Ukrainian security services said General Budanov’s assassination was planned ahead of the May 5 celebrations of Orthodox Easter. The task of the network of agents of the Russian Federal Security Service in Ukraine was to observe and pass on information about the whereabouts of General Budanov. explain. Once his location is confirmed and communicated, he becomes the target of rocket and drone attacks.
One of the colonels obtained weapons for use in the attack, including attack drones, rocket launcher munitions and anti-personnel mines, according to security services and Ukraine’s prosecutor general. A Ukrainian statement said the colonel would hand over the weapon to other agents to carry out the attack.
General Budanov’s wife was poisoned to death late last yearThe incident sparked widespread speculation that Russia was stepping up its efforts to target Ukraine’s senior leadership, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency.
SBU also report Last month, Russia worked with Polish security services to arrest a Polish man who it said had offered to spy for Russia as part of a plot to assassinate Zelenskiy.
Russia had no immediate comment on Tuesday’s accusations.
