Intelligence Arrests Woman Allegedly Involved in Plan to Assassinate President Zelensky and Passes Classified Information to Russia

JAKARTA - The Ukrainian intelligence service, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced that it has arrested a woman suspected of being involved in the plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The SBU said the woman had been trying to find out President Zelensky's travel plans, ahead of his visit to flood-hit Mykolaiv in June.

President Zelensky confirmed he had been informed of the arrests, saying the head of the SBU had informed him of the "war against traitors", cited from BBC, August 8.

Meanwhile, the Russian side has yet to comment on the arrests.

The SBU further said in a statement the woman was "caught in the act" while trying to provide intelligence to the Russians. According to the SBU, the woman was trying to gather intelligence, find out about the president's activities in southern Mykolaiv.

Meanwhile, President Zelensky visited the region to review the damage caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam. The SBU, aware of the plot, took additional security measures against President Zelensky as a deterrent, but did not arrest any suspects at the time.

They accused Russia of planning a "massive airstrike in the Mykolaiv area", with the suspects trying to provide them with information regarding the location of electronic warfare systems and ammunition depots that could be targets of the Russian military.

According to the SBU, the suspect lived in a small town called Ochakiv, which Zelensky visited in July, and worked in a shop at an army base there.

Agents followed him after the visit to find out more about his actions and "accepted assignments" by Russia, the SBU added.

The statement alleges the suspect had been driving in the area, taking pictures and videos of Ukrainian military facilities.

He is expected to face charges of disseminating unauthorized information about arms and troop movements. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.

It is understood that Ukrainian security services have made a number of arrests of suspected "Russian agents" who are believed to have helped locate the targets of Moscow's airstrikes.