Ukraine says it foiled Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky and arrested two colonels

The Ukrainian security service (SBU) says it has thwarted a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other high-ranking Ukrainian officials, the British BBC network reported on Monday (7). According to information from the SBU, Ukraine’s security service, two colonels from the Ukrainian government’s protection unit were arrested.

The SBU said they were part of a network of agents belonging to the Russian state security service, the FSB. They were reportedly looking for willing “enforcers” among Zelensky’s bodyguards to kidnap and kill him.

According to the report, other targets include the head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, and the head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk. The group reportedly planned to kill Budanov before Orthodox Easter, which this year fell on May 5.

According to the SBU, the conspirators aimed to recruit an agent who would surveil protected individuals and transmit information to the FSB. The Russian agency would then plan to launch a missile attack against the target’s residence, followed by a drone attack against the remainder. Later, a second missile attack would aim to destroy evidence of the drone’s use.