Security Service of Ukraine exposes FSB agents who were preparing an assassination attempt on Zelenskyy, Budanov and Maliuk
A group of Russian agents, which included employees of the State Protection Department, was preparing an assassination attempt on President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the chief of the Defense Intelligence Kirill Budanov, the chief of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk, and other Ukrainian officials.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General's Office.
The network, which was led by Russian special services, included 5 members, including two colonels of the State Protection Department.
One of the tasks of this network was to find perpetrators among the military close to Zelenskyy's security who could take him hostage and then kill him.
In addition to the president, the Russians planned to kill, among others, the chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Maliuk, and thechieff of the Defense Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, whose assassination was planned before Easter.
To assassinate the intelligence chief, a Russian agent was supposed to monitor his movements under guard and pass information to the Russians. They planned to launch a missile attack on the house where Budanov was supposed to be staying, and then attack the people who would remain at the site of the attack with a drone. After that, the Russians wanted to strike with another missile, in particular, to destroy the traces of the drone.
According to the investigation, the assassination attempts were organized by employees of the 9th Directorate of the Operational Information Department of the 5th Service. Among them, in particular, were Maksym Mishustin, Dmytro Perlin, and Oleksii Kornev. The latter met with the colonel several times in secret in neighboring European countries. Funds for the agents were also usually transferred abroad.
“Only a limited number of people knew about our special operation, and I personally controlled its course. The terrorist attack, which was supposed to be a gift to Putin for his inauguration, was, in fact, a failure of the Russian secret service. But we should not forget that the enemy is strong and experienced and should not underestimate it. We will continue to work proactively to ensure that every traitor receives a well-deserved court sentence,” said Chief of the Security Service, Vasyl Maliuk.
The Russian agents' homes were searched, and weapons and other evidence of involvement in the organization of the attempts were found. They were notified of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 2, Art. 111 (high treason committed under martial law);
- Part 1, Art. 14, Part 2 Art. 258 (preparation for a terrorist act).
Currently, they have been imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention. They all face life imprisonment.