The Ukrainian security service SBU arrested two security officers on Monday suspected of preparing an attack on President Volodymyr Zelensky and other high-ranking officials on behalf of Moscow. Kiev reported this on Tuesday.
The SBU has “dismantled a network of agents” of the Russian security service FSB that “prepared an attack on the Ukrainian president,” it said in a statement. One of the goals was to recruit soldiers close to Zelensky’s security service to “take him hostage and kill him.”
Other “high-ranking officials” from military and political circles were also targeted. The Ukrainian services mention by name Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of the military intelligence service HUR, and Vasyl Maliuk, head of the SBU.
“Two colonels” who worked for the Ukrainian state agency responsible for the security of high-ranking officials have been arrested. One of the members of the alleged network had access to drones and explosives, according to the SBU.
Strong and experienced enemy
“Very few people knew about our special operation, which I managed myself,” explains Vasyl Maliuk. “The terrorist attack, intended as a ‘gift’ for Putin’s inauguration, was a failure of the Russian secret services. We must not forget that our enemy is strong and experienced and should not be underestimated. We will continue to work proactively to ensure that every traitor receives his deserved punishment.”
Ukraine itself points to three agents of the Russian FSB, who coordinated the murder plot. They are part of the so-called ‘Fifth Service’, the unit within the secret service that operates abroad. One of them, Alexei Kornev, held several meetings with Ukrainian colonels in various European countries before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the SBU writes. They would also have been paid for services rendered.
The suspects’ residences were searched and ammunition and other evidence was seized. The duo is now being brought to trial on suspicion of high treason and preparing a terrorist attack.
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