Two Arrested for Treason in Zelenskyy Assassination Plot

(USNewsMag.com) – On May 7th, Ukraine announced two colonels in Ukraine’s government protection had been arrested for their alleged involvement in a Russian plot to assassinate Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office stated that the two were accused of exchanging money for “subversive activities against Ukraine.” One of the colonels is facing charges of treason and preparing a terrorist act, and the second colonel faces charges of treason.

Russia’s state security service (FSB) sent one suspect ammunition and two drones that the suspect planned to transfer to an accomplice who would carry out the explosion, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Kyiv’s state security service (SBU) said it thwarted the attempted assassination plot against Zelenskyy, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, and the head of the SBU Vasyl Maliuk.

This is not the first assassination plot uncovered against Zelenskyy since the war began with Russia in February 2022, with Zelenskyy claiming he has been told of 10 attempts on his life by his security services.

In August 2023, authorities arrested a woman from the Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv for her alleged involvement in an assassination plot against Zelenskyy. The SBU said it caught the woman “red-handed” passing information about Zelenskyy’s visit to the Mykolaiv region so Russia could plan an airstrike to kill him.

A Polish man was arrested and charged with “readiness to act for foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland” in April, for allegedly giving Russian spies information about the security at Rzeszów-Jasionka airport, which Zelenskyy uses when he leaves for foreign trips.

Though not an assassination plot, Zelenskyy had a close call to being harmed in March during his visit to Odesa when a Russian missile exploded around 500 meters away from his convoy that included Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Neither Zelenskyy nor Mitsotakis were injured by the airstrike that killed five other people.