A plan to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was foiled by authorities, according to Ukraine’s internal security agency. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) announced Monday, June 23, that a Polish man with historic ties to the former Soviet Union had been recruited by Russia to carry out the killing.
The plot
SSU chief Vasyl Malyuk said the suspect planned to assassinate Zelenskyy at Poland’s Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport using either a sniper rifle or a first-person view (FPV) drone. The operation was reportedly thwarted by a joint effort between Ukraine’s SSU and Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW).
“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,” Malyuk said in a closed-door briefing with Ukrainian media. “But we arrested the agent. The Polish colleagues worked professionally; this was a joint operation.”
The suspect
The Polish suspect was identified as Pawel K, a retired military officer allegedly recruited by Soviet intelligence decades ago. According to ABW, he was initially arrested in April 2024.
Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak confirmed in a Monday post on X that coordination with Kyiv’s security services remains ongoing. He added that an indictment was submitted to a Polish court last month.
Russia has not commented on the alleged assassination attempt.
Not the first attempt
This is not the first time an attempt has been made on Zelenskyy’s life. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the Ukrainian president has said he’s lost count of how many times his life had been threatened.
In May 2024, Ukrainian officials arrested two colonels from their own state security department who were accused of leaking sensitive information to Moscow. Authorities said the pair had planned to assassinate Zelenskyy and other senior leaders.
Russia continues attacks
Meanwhile, Russian drone attacks killed at least 14 civilians and wounded dozens more in Ukraine on Monday. Nine fatalities were reported in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv, where an attack led to an apartment building’s partial collapse.
The attack occurred as Zelenskyy visited the U.K., where he met with King Charles III behind closed doors.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 352 drones and decoys, along with 11 ballistic missiles and five cruise missiles. Ukrainian forces intercepted 339 drones and 15 missiles. One missile destroyed a high school, killing two staff members. No children were at the school because of summer vacation.
Last week, a Russian strike killed 28 people in Kyiv, including 23 residents in a collapsed apartment building.
