Ukrainian security services have recently disrupted multiple Russian assassination attempts targeting President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), these plots involved Russian agents and were aimed at creating significant destabilization within the Ukrainian leadership.

One detailed assassination plan, foiled by the SBU, involved saboteurs within the Ukrainian state guard service recruited by Russian intelligence. These included two colonels tasked with kidnapping and killing President Zelensky before Orthodox Easter in 2024. The conspirators intended to use rockets and drones for the attack. Alongside Zelensky, other officials such as the head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, and SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk, were also targeted.

Additionally, there were plans to eliminate Budanov by attacking a building he was in with rockets, followed by drone attacks and a missile strike to obliterate any remaining evidence. The SBU revealed that the coordination for these attacks involved direct instructions from the Russian intelligence agency FSB, with several operatives, including FSB agents, arrested in connection to the plots.

These foiled attempts are part of a reported series of efforts to assassinate Zelensky, with implications pointing towards an ongoing and intense struggle between Ukraine and Russia amidst their broader geopolitical conflict. The SBU emphasized the sophistication and danger of the enemy’s tactics, acknowledging the continuous need for vigilance and strong security measures to protect Ukrainian leadership and sovereignty.