In short: Ukraine’s security service claims it has foiled a plot to kill the country’s president, as well as other political and military leaders.
Two men have been arrested whom Ukraine claims were taking orders from Russia.
What’s next: The men have been remanded in custody, and face life sentences in prison if convicted.
Ukraine’s primary internal security agency says it has detained two men over an alleged Russian plot to assassinate president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In a post on Telegram, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it “exposed a network of agents” allegedly getting orders from Moscow and planning to kill the president and other members of the country’s political and military leadership.
It claims the Kremlin’s espionage agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), was behind the plot.
It said the two men who were detained were colonels in the Ukraine’s State Security Administration (UDO) — an organisation responsible for protecting the country’s most prominent people, including the president.
The Telegram post did not say when the men had been arrested, although it did claim one of the plans it allegedly uncovered — to kill military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov — had been due to take place “before Easter”, which was this year observed on May 5 in Ukraine.
As well as Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Budanov, the post said operatives were also planning to assassinate SBU head Vasyl Malyuk.
In a statement, Mr Malyuk claimed the killings were “supposed to be a gift” for Russian president Vladimir Putin before his inauguration, which took place on Tuesday.
A person’s hands wearing gloves, and holding a large bomb.
Ukraine’s SBU says it found a stockpile of weapons in Kyiv as part of the alleged plot.(Telegram: Security Service of Ukraine)
Ukraine says it has foiled multiple plots to kill Mr Zelenskyy since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, although the announcements are not independently verifiable.
Last month, a man accused of working for Russia on another alleged plot to kill Mr Zelenskyy was arrested in Poland. The Kremlin did not comment on it.
Experts have previously warned assassinating prominent Ukrainians, like Mr Zelenskyy, would mark an intolerable escalation in the war for Ukraine’s allies, and could spark a retaliation.
The SBU claimed the blueprint included observing the movements of prominent Ukrainian officials and pass information to Russia, so it could “launch a missile strike” at their locations.
Then, the SBU claimed, survivors would be targeted with drones, before another missile would be launched to destroy evidence.
It claimed arms had already been brought to Kyiv in preparation for an attack by one of the UDO colonels.
