Russian security forces have been actively targeting Ukrainian officials, including President Zelensky and other senior officials, since the start of the war in Ukraine. Two senior officers recruited by Russia were tasked with providing real-time updates on the location of these officials to Russian security forces. They were also instructed to recruit collaborators within the Ukrainian army to help carry out the mission.
One of the tasks given to these officers by the FSB was to find army collaborators who could potentially take Zelensky hostage and assassinate him. In addition to targeting Zelensky, the FSB also planned to eliminate Vasil Maliuk, head of the SBU, and Kirilo Budanov, head of the GRU. The plan included launching missile and UAV attacks on Budanov, with the goal of assassinating him before Orthodox Easter.
However, this operation was described as a failure by Russian security services. The two senior officers were accused of treason and one was also charged with planning an act of terrorism. In a video message released by Ukrainian security services, one of the accused admitted to receiving weapons and instructions from the Russian security service.
This latest plot is seen as one of the most carefully planned and executed by Russian security forces among many attempted since the start of the war in Ukraine. Several previous attempts have been made to locate and eliminate Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky and Budanov. The recruitment of mercenaries and use of missile and UAV attacks have been reported in previous attempts as well.
