Ukraine Says It Foiled Russian Plot to Kill Zelensky

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Ukraine’s information services said connected Tuesday that they had foiled a Russian crippled to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and different apical subject and governmental figures. Two Ukrainian colonels accused of participating successful the crippled person been arrested connected suspicion of treason.

The Ukrainian home quality agency, the S.B.U., said successful a statement that the crippled had progressive a web of agents — including the 2 colonels — that was tally by Russia’s Federal Security Service, oregon F.S.B., the main successor bureau to the K.G.B. According to the Ukrainian agency, the agents moving astatine Russia’s absorption were tasked with identifying radical adjacent to Mr. Zelensky’s information item who could instrumentality him hostage and aboriginal termination him.

The agency’s connection said the different apical Ukrainian officials targeted successful the crippled included Vasyl Malyuk, the caput of the S.B.U., and Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the caput of Ukraine’s subject quality agency. The Ukrainian claims could not beryllium independently verified.

It is not the archetypal clip that Ukraine has reported a imaginable assassination effort aimed astatine its apical leaders. Mr. Zelensky himself said successful an interview with an Italian tv transmission earlier this twelvemonth that his information services had told him of much than 10 specified attempts.

Ukraine’s information services offered fewer details astir erstwhile assassination plots. But this time, the bureau went to immoderate magnitude successful its connection to picture however the Ukrainian officials were to beryllium killed.

The services said the 2 colonels accused successful the crippled belonged to the State Security Administration, which protects apical officials. They had been recruited earlier Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022, according to the statement, which identified 3 F.S.B. members — Maxim Mishustin, Dmytro Perlin and Oleksiy Kornev — arsenic moving the cognition from Moscow.

The assassination of General Budanov, the services said, was planned to instrumentality spot earlier Orthodox Easter, which was celebrated connected May 5. The F.S.B.’s web of agents successful Ukraine was tasked with observing and passing connected accusation astir General Budanov’s whereabouts, the Ukrainian information services said. Once his determination had been confirmed and communicated, helium would person been targeted successful a rocket and drone attack.

Weapons for the onslaught were provided to 1 of the colonels, including onslaught drones, ammunition for a rocket launcher and anti-personnel mines, according to the information services and Ukraine’s authoritative general. The colonel was to walk the weapons to different agents to transportation retired the attack, the Ukrainian connection said.

General Budanov’s woman was poisoned precocious past year, according to the Ukrainian subject quality agency, successful an incidental that led to wide speculation that Russia was stepping up efforts to people Ukraine’s elder leadership.

The S.B.U. besides reported past period that it had arrested, successful practice with Polish information services, a Polish antheral who it said had offered to spy for Russia arsenic portion of a crippled to assassinate Mr. Zelensky.

Russia made nary contiguous remark astir Tuesday’s allegations.