2 Ukrainian security officials held for plotting President Zelenskyy's assassination, says Kyiv

 2 Ukrainian security officials held for plotting President Zelenskyy's assassination, says Kyiv

Ukraine said the officials were involved in a plot coordinated by Russia to assassinate senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine on Tuesday said that it has detained two Ukrainian security officials involved in a plot to assassinate senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reported AFP.

The Ukrainian officials alleged that Russia coordinated the plan to assassinate Zelenskyy and other top officials.

A statement issued by Ukraine’s state security service said that two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine, which protects top officials, were detained on suspicion of enacting the plan drawn up by Russia’s Federal Security Service.

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"The network, whose activities were supervised by the FSB from Moscow, included two colonels of the State Security Department who were leaking classified information to Russia," the SBU said.

The colonels were recruited before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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Ukraine claims that this was not the first time when Russia attempted to kill Zelenskyy. In 2022, Zelensky said that there have been at least 10 attempts to assassinate him as the war with Russia stretches into a third year.

Last month, prosecutors in Poland said arrested a Polish man arrested on allegations of being ready to spy on behalf of Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Zelenskyy.