UKRAINE has arrested an alleged Russian informant after foiling a plot to kill President Volodymr Zelensky, the SBU announced.
The nation’s security service said the woman was caught “red-handed” trying to pass intelligence onto Putin’s regime.
Ukraine’s security service said they caught the woman ‘red-handed’
EPAPresident Zelensky said he had been made aware of the incident[/caption]
The SBU revealed she had been “gathering intelligence” on the details of Zelensky’s itinerary ahead of his trip to flood-hit Mykolaiv in July.
The Ukrainian President confirmed he had been informed about the shop assistant’s arrest and the evil plot to eliminate him.
He said the head of the security service had kept him in the loop about the “fight against traitors”.
The unnamed woman was pictured surrounded by masked SBU agents in a kitchen as she was detained.
Moscow has not yet commented on the incident.
The woman had been trying to find out information regarding Zelensky’s schedule for his trip to the southern region, the SBU said.
He first toured the city in June to inspect the damage after the Nova Kakhovka dam burst, before returning the following month after heavy Russian shelling.
The suspect is alleged to have been collecting information on the locations the President planned to visit and at what time.
It is claimed she planned to pass on the info to Putin’s goons, who were preparing a “massive airstrike on the Mykolaiv region”.
Zelensky was the target of the planned attack, a spokesperson for the SBU confirmed to NBC News.
The security service said it was made aware of the plot before the President’s visit and additional security measures were put in place.
The woman was not arrested at the time as the SBU wanted to learn more about her alleged Russian handlers.
Agents began trailing her in the hopes of gathering more intelligence on the “assignments received”.
The suspect is alleged to have attempted to share sensitive information with Russia regarding top-secret locations.
This includes the coordinates of electronic warfare systems and warehouses used to stash ammunition.
She lived in a small town called Ochakiv – where Zelensky visited last month – and had been working in a shop at a military base there.
According to the statement from the SBU, the woman had taken pictures and video of military facilities in Ukraine.
The suspect now faces up to 12 years behind bars if found guilty of the alleged assassination plot that was thwarted.
She is expected to face charges of unauthorised dissemination of information about the movements of weapons and troops.
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