The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) prevented two assassination attempts on President Volodymyr Zelensky. SSU Chief Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk shared details of these special operations during a meeting with media representatives.
“Last year, there was a very high-profile operation. The SSU detained a colonel who was head of a department within the State Security Administration. Along with him, another colonel was arrested. They worked for the Russian FSB, specifically its 5th Service. They were preparing an assassination attempt on our President — Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky. According to their criminal plan, they were recruiting executors and planned to carry out the attack during his movement around the territory of the Office of the President of Ukraine,” Malyuk said.
He emphasized that countering these hostile plans involved complex work:
“We worked on this for almost two years, essentially since the start of the war. We conducted powerful intelligence and technical infiltration into this group.”
Besides plotting the assassination attempt on the President, the suspects collected important information and passed it on to the Russians. They also planned attacks on the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, and on Vasyl Malyuk himself.
“Speaking about attempts on the Commander-in-Chief, I want to mention another operation. I would also like to thank Poland’s Internal Security Agency — we carried out an important criminal case with their cooperation. A retired military officer, a Pole, who was recruited decades ago and firmly believed in the Soviet ideology, harbored intentions through the years. This ‘time capsule’ was activated by the enemy,” the SSU chief explained.
The agent’s task was the physical elimination of President Zelensky at the Rzeszów airport.
“Several options were considered. One was an FPV drone; another was a sniper system. But we arrested the agent. The Polish colleagues worked professionally; this was a joint operation,” Vasyl Malyuk added.
