Ukraine’s counterintelligence service reportedly foiled a Russian plot to infiltrate President Volodymyr Zelensky’s security team and assassinate him – just in time for Vladimir Putin’s fifth inauguration as the president of Russia.
Russian intelligence agents were caught targeting members of Zelensky’s security details in the hopes of taking him hostage and later killing him, the SBU State Security Service said Tuesday.
Two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine – which guards the president and other government leaders – were detained on suspicion of leaking information to Russia’s Federal Security Service, the agency said.
The two colonels had been recruited before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the statement noted.
They are both facing charges of treason, which carries a life sentence.
The plot – which was run out of Moscow – supposedly entailed an attack before Putin’s fifth inauguration on Tuesday, State Security Service head Vasyl Maliuk added.
In addition to kidnapping and assassinating Zelensky, the conspirators also hoped to identify several senior Ukrainian officials and target them in a rocket attack, as well as drones and missiles.
Zelensky, 46, previously claimed that there had been at least 10 attempts on his life since the Ukraine war started.
Meanwhile, Putin’s inauguration at the Grand Kremlin Palace went ahead as planned Tuesday – ushering in another six years of his iron-fisted authority.
During the ceremony, the 71-year-old vowed to defend the Russian Constitution while 2,500 dignitaries looked on.
“We are a united and great people and together we will overcome all obstacles, realize all our plans, together we will win,” he said after being sworn in.
Putin also thanked the “heroes” of Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, and slammed the West for “trying to contain Russia.”
Excluding a brief period from 2008 through 2012, Putin has been the president of Russia since 1999.
He is the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin – and will be eligible for reelection when his fifth term expires in 2030.
With Post wires
