Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) is claiming to have captured a female informant who was helping the Russians try to locate and assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The planned method of assassination was an airstrike somewhere in the southern Mykolaiv province, reported USA Today. The woman was to gather information about Zelenskyy’s visit to the area, including his itinerary and routes. Zelenskyy traveled to Mykolaiv in mid-June and late July, per USA Today.
SBU also revealed that the alleged informant gathered intelligence on Ukrainian defenses, including “electronic warfare systems” and ammunition depots so that the Russian military could target them.
“The occupiers planned to use this information to prepare a new massive airstrike on the Mykolaiv region,” SBU posted on its Telegram channel, per USA Today.
Zelenskyy tweeted on Monday about being briefed by the head of the SBU “on the fight against traitors in Ukraine,” as translated from Ukrainian via Google Translate.
SBU did not reveal the suspected informant’s identity but did say she was a resident of Ochakiv who worked in a military goods store as a saleswoman. Though allegedly part of a plot to kill the president, she is being charged with unauthorized dissemination of information, which carries a 12-year maximum sentence, per USA Today.
The agency also released a picture of the woman with her face blurred, flanked by two soldiers, who also had their faces blurred, as published by RT.
SBU and even members of the Ukrainian public have taken a strong stand against those suspected of assisting Russia since the invasion began in February 2022. Russian speakers and those suspected of having Russian sympathies have purportedly been taped to posts as a form of public punishment and shaming.
Fox News reported that Zelenskyy has been the target of assassination attempts before, including two attributed to the Wagner Group, a Russian-backed paramilitary force.