Undercover plot to 'kidnap and kill' Zelenskyy thwarted, Ukraine's security service says

A Russian plot to kidnap and assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian officials has been uncovered by the country’s state security service (SBU).

President Zelenskyy on US television last month. Pic: Meet the Press/NBC

The SBU claimed two agents who were posing as Ukrainian state guard servicemen were tasked by Moscow to kidnap Mr Zelenskyy and later kill him.

They also planned to kill other high-ranking Ukrainian political and military officials, the SBU said in a statement on Telegram.

These included Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, before Easter, as well as Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the SBU.

Mr Malyuk, said the plot was supposed to be a “gift to Putin before the inauguration” but was “actually a failure of the Russian secret service”.

“But we must not forget that the enemy is strong and experienced, and cannot be underestimated. We will continue to work proactively to ensure that every traitor receives a well-deserved court sentence,” Mr Malyuk said.

The alleged agents being detained in pictures released by the SBU. Pic: Telegram/SBU

The head of the SBU also said he “personally controlled” the investigation into the two agents, which “gradually” built up evidence against them.

The SBU said the two suspects were part of a network working for the FSB, Russia’s security service, and had also leaked classified information.

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“The enemy’s plan was as follows: first, a recruited agent was supposed to observe the movement of a protected person and pass information to the enemy,” an SBU statement said.

One of the alleged agents being detained in pictures released by the SBU. Pic: Telegram/SBU

“The coordinates of the house where the official was supposed to be were to be used to launch a missile strike. Then they were going to attack the people who remained at the site of the attack with a drone.

“After that, the Russians planned to hit with another missile, including to destroy the traces of the drone.”

The two agents have been detained and face life imprisonment.

Mr Zelenskyy has been subject to several other threats on his life.

He said in 2022 that there had been at least 10 attempts to assassinate him since the start of the war.