Ukraine’s civilian counterintelligence (SBU) announced on Tuesday that it had uncovered a group of Russian Secret Service (FSB) agents who allegedly planned to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials. Two of the detainees were supposed to protect the head of state.
The SBU detained five people, including two members of the State Security Bureau, which is in charge of protecting the country’s most important offices. One of the tasks of the agents was to look for a person among the members of the presidential security who would be willing to take Zelensky as a hostage and then murder him.
In addition to Zelensky, agents are said to have planned to kill SBU director Vasyl Maljuk and head of military intelligence (HUR) Kyryl Budanov. According to Ukrainian investigators, the suspects passed information to the Russian side and also prepared the means to carry out a terrorist attack. One of them got two drones and ammunition. He was said to have given them to his companions to use.
The information that Moscow was trying to assassinate Zelensky came mainly at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, when Russian troops were heading for Kiev.
Tags: Ukrainians revealed attempt assassinate Zelensky Counterintelligence detained people
