Ukrainian counterintelligence investigators have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top military and political figures, Ukraine’s state security service said Tuesday.
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, or FSB, a statement said. The colonels were recruited before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to the statement.
It quoted the head of the State Security Service, Vasyl Maliuk, as saying the plot foresaw an attack before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a fifth term on Tuesday. Maliuk said that he personally oversaw the top-secret operation to track the plot.
Ukrainian claims of Russian efforts to kill Zelenskyy aren’t new. Zelensky said in 2022 there has been at least 10 attempts to assassinate him, and now the war with Russia has stretched into its third year.
Also, prosecutors in Poland said last month that a Polish man had been arrested on allegations of being ready to spy on behalf of Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Zelenskyy.
Here’s a question: why now? Russia has had many opportunities to off Zelensky and has demonstrated the ability to break through Ukrainian air defences near Zelensky. For most countries, assassinating a head of state is considered a huge faux pas because it opens up the opportunity for yourself to be considered a valid target. Even if nothing else, Putin values self-preservation.
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This feels like a purge of people loyal to Zaluzhnyi after his fall from grace in February.
There have been many previous attempts. Why now? It takes time to go for a new plan. They’re likely working on a new attempt.
Russia has already demonstrated the ability to pierce Ukraine’s air defense umbrella not even a kilometer from where Zelensky was. There’s no need to do the dirty work of an assassination when Zelensky willingly goes to the front line every few weeks.
Russia has more than enough munitions for local air superiority, even if they can’t maintain that across the front line.