The wife of Ukrainian military intelligence head Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov was the subject of a poisoning attempt in November amid ongoing Russian efforts to assassinate top Ukrainian officials. Budanov himself was recently targeted in a plot that also aimed to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior political and military figures.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) broke up the plot on Tuesday arresting two senior officers, both colonels in the Department of State Security. The assassination of General Budanov was planned to take place before Orthodox Easter which was celebrated on May 5.
🔴Ukrainian security forces have thwarted an assassination scheme targeting President Volodymyr @ZelenskyyUa, leading to the arrest of five individuals allegedly linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (@RUS_FSB).https://t.co/77GW9oFEU4
— TVP World (@TVPWorld_com) May 7, 2024
According to the SBU, the FSB’s network of agents in Ukraine was tasked with observing and passing on information about General Budanov’s whereabouts. Once his location had been confirmed and communicated he would have been targeted in a rocket and drone attack.
The attempt on Budanov’s wife and the recent assassination plot highlight the persistent danger faced by Ukraine’s top officials as the war with Russia continues. The SBU has arrested over 2,000 Ukrainian citizens on charges of working for the Russians since the war started underscoring the extensive recruitment of Ukrainians by the FSB for decades.
