Ukraine Arrests Russian Agent Suspected of Planning to Assassinate President Zelensky as a Gift for Vladimir Putin's Inauguration

Kyrylo Budanov with President Zelensky. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Ukraine's state security agencies succeeded in thwarting and arresting two Russian agents who planned to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and top Kyiv intelligence officials, as a gift for Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a new term as President of Russia on Tuesday.

The two arrested men were colonels in Ukraine's state guard who were recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) to leak classified information to Moscow, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said via the Telegram app.

The SBU said the two agents were assigned to find someone close to the presidential guard who would take President Zelensky hostage and then kill him, the SBU statement said, without explaining at what point the alleged plan had been thwarted.

"The terrorist attack, which was supposed to be a gift for Putin for his inauguration, was indeed a failure of the Russian special services," said SBU head Vasyl Maliuk, as quoted by his agency on Telegram, reported by Reuters, May 7.

In addition to President Zelensky, the spies also planned to “disappear” Maliuk and Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the military intelligence agency, the SBU said.

In fact, Budanov's murder should have occurred before Orthodox Easter Sunday on May 5, the agency added.

The agents attempted to alert the Russians to Budanov's whereabouts, so they could carry out missile and drone attacks on the location, the SBU said.

One of the arrested men was involved in transporting and storing drones and explosives for the operation, the agency added.

Last month, the Kremlin also declined to comment when asked about the arrest in Poland of a man accused of collaborating with Russian intelligence to prepare a possible assassination attempt on President Zelensky.

It is known that President Zelensky, who led efforts to repel the Russian invasion that has been going on for more than two years, said last fall that his security services had thwarted at least five Russian plots to assassinate him.

Vladimir Putin was sworn in as President of Russia for his fifth term on Tuesday at the Kremlin, after winning 87.28 percent of the vote in the presidential election held in March. This inauguration marks the start of a new six-year term.