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Russia spy arrested in Poland for ‘plotting assassination attempt on Zelensky'

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A major investigation is underway into the thwarted plan
A major investigation is underway into the thwarted plan

POLAND has arrested a man on suspicion he was working with Russia to plot the assassination of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Suspect Paweł K has been accused of helping the Kremlin's security services to plan the attack that was foiled by Poland with help from Ukraine.

The alleged scheme to kill President Zelensky was busted on April 17 after Ukraine raised their suspicions with Poland eiqekiddqiqqrprw
The alleged scheme to kill President Zelensky was busted on April 17 after Ukraine raised their suspicions with PolandCredit: EPA
The Polish Prosecutor's Office accused Pawek K of working with Moscow
The Polish Prosecutor's Office accused Pawek K of working with MoscowCredit: Alamy
Zelensky frequently uses the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southern Poland
Zelensky frequently uses the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southern Poland

Pawel K was detained on Wednesday and charged with "reporting his readiness to act for foreign intelligence".

He could face up to eight years in prison if found guilty.

A joint investigation, led by Polish and Ukrainian law enforcement, found he "established contacts with the Russian Federation directly involved in the war in Ukraine".

Putin accused of surrounding himself with same 'actors' at series of eventsPutin accused of surrounding himself with same 'actors' at series of events

A statement said: "His tasks included the collecting and providing of military intelligence for the Russian Federation with information on the security of the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport".

His intention was "to help Russian special services plan a possible attack" on President Zelensky, it added.

The officials did not specify whether Moscow had actually received Pawel K's offer of intelligence or what the response was.

Polish prosecutors said Ukraine alerted them to their suspicion about the suspect and shared information that led to his arrest.

The investigation is ongoing.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin said: "This case is yet another proof that Russia is a threat not only to Ukraine and Ukrainians but also to the entire free world.

"The Kremlin's criminal regime is constantly trying to undermine European and global security."

Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport was a small regional airport, but it has since has become a key hub in the vast operation to supply Western military aid to Ukraine.

Military and cargo aircraft from the US and across Europe regularly fly in and out of the airport to deliver supplies to waiting trucks that make the 62 mile journey to the Ukrainian border.

Wednesday's alleged assassination attempt is certainly not the first to be made against President Zelensky since Russian invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Catholics across the world pray for Pope Benedict XVI as his body lies in stateCatholics across the world pray for Pope Benedict XVI as his body lies in state

In fact, the Ukrainian leader survived an alleged attempt on his life while touring the Black Sea port of Odessa just last month.

Zelensky claimed other people died and were injured when a Russian missile struck near his motorcade while he was with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Both delegates were a mere 500 to 800 metres from the strike which killed five people, according to a Ukrainian navy spokesperson.

Just weeks after Vladimir Putin's troops invading enemy territory, it was reported that the Ukrainian military had "destroyed" a Chechen outfit tasked with "eliminating" Zelensky.

A report from Pravda in March 2022 stated that Putin had "assigned the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov to do the dirtiest work and personally instructed him during a meeting" the previous month.

The outlet also claimed that the Chechen group were tasked with taking out Ukrainian leaders before they were repelled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Zelensky's presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, previously revealed that the Ukrainian leader had survived more than a dozen attempts in the first two weeks of the war alone.

Podolyak told Pravda there rather than the "two or three" attempts reported in the media, it was in fact "more than a dozen".

"We have a very powerful intelligence and counterintelligence network," he told the outlet two years ago.

"They monitor it all and all these DRGs [Russian reconnaissance groups] are being eliminated on the way.

"That is, we understand, all the plans and our counterintelligence is working on them."

The Ukrainian leader visiting troops close to the frontline in Kharkiv last week
The Ukrainian leader visiting troops close to the frontline in Kharkiv last weekCredit: AFP
It's not known how the assassination plot would have been carried out
It's not known how the assassination plot would have been carried outCredit: EPA

Iona Cleave

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