Ukrainian counterintelligence investigators have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top military and political figures, Ukraine’s state security service said Tuesday.
Two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine, which protects top officials, were detained on suspicion of enacting the plan drawn up by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, a statement said. The colonels were recruited before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to the statement.
Small grocers, co-ops receiving boost from Loblaw boycott: ‘A lot of anger’
Zelenskyy’s movements are kept secret for security reasons, and his visits around the country are publicly announced only after he has left. News of events he holds in Kyiv is usually embargoed until they are over.
Zelenskyy has proved to be a valuable asset for his country as the war against Ukraine’s bigger neighbor grinds on, and as Kyiv’s depleted forces wait for more troops and weapons. He has urged his people to keep fighting and instilled a belief that Ukraine can prevail.
The Ukrainian statement said the Russian intelligence agents targeting Zelenskyy sought out members of the Ukrainian military close to the president’s security detail who could take the head of state hostage and later kill him. The operation was run from Moscow, it said, providing the names of three alleged Russian spies behind the conspiracy.
The broader plan was to identify the location of senior Ukrainian officials and target them with a rocket attack, followed by drones and missiles.
The two Ukrainian colonels were arrested on suspicion of treason, which carries a life sentence, the statement said.
More on World