Man arrested in alleged plot to assassinate Zelensky

Authorities in Poland have arrested a man and charged him after it came to light that he was allegedly involved in a Russian plan to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is what we know about the plot. 

The Polish man was arrested and charged by authorities in Poland over allegations that he planned to work with Russian intelligence services to assist Moscow in assassinating Volodymyr Zelensky according to BBC News. 

Prosecutors in Poland revealed the arrest was made because of information supplied by Ukrainian intelligence. The suspect known as "Pawel K" was planning to collect and pass along information to Russia about an airport in Poland. 

CNN reported that the suspect was asked to pass along information about the security at Poland’s Rzeszów-Jasionka airport, which is located in southwestern Poland about 100 kilometers or 62 miles from the border with Ukraine.  

“Zelensky is known to use the airport when leaving on foreign trips, as it is one of the closest airports to the Ukrainian border,” journalists from CNN reported, which would explain why Russian intelligence wanted to target Zelesnky at this airport. 

CNN added that Rzeszów-Jasionka airport “often receives military aid and civilian goods from the US and across Europe because Ukraine’s airspace remains closed to non-military flights.” This could be another reason why Russia wanted to target it. 

“Ukrainian airspace is closed to most flights, so leaders travelling in and out of the country tend to fly in to neighbouring countries such as Poland and travel on to Kyiv by train,” explained Ido Vock of BBC News. 

Vock also pointed out that Zelensky is known to fly into Rzeszów-Jasionka airport and noted the Ukrainian President used the airport in December 2022 when flying back from a visit to the United States. 

Other foreign dignitaries are also known to frequent the airport, including Joe Biden who used Rzeszów-Jasionka when he visited Ukraine according to Vock. However, it is not clear as of yet what was being planned by Russia. 

Authorities did not say if the information Pawel was tasked with collecting was passed to Russia but added that the man still could face upwards of 8 years in prison if he is found guilty. BBC News noted the investigation is still ongoing. 

Pawel was charged with “readiness to act for foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland” according to CNN, which was quoting Polish prosecutors who also noted the man contacted Russians “directly involved in the war in Ukraine.” 

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin commented on the situation in a post on Twitter and explained the case, writing that it underscored “the persistent threat Russia poses not only to Ukraine and Ukrainians but to the entire free world.”

“The Kremlin's criminal regime is constantly trying to undermine European and global security. It organizes and carries out sabotage operations on the territory of other sovereign states,” Kostin added. 

Polish President Donald Tusk commented on the alleged plot to assassinate Zelensky in his country and said there would be “no leniency for those who collaborate with the Russian intelligence services,” according to a report from the Telegraph. 

This isn’t the first time in recent months that Ukraine has thwarted Russian attempts to kill Zelensky, CNN reported. In August 2023, the Ukrainian Security Service arrested a woman tasked with gathering information about a planned visit by Zelensky to Mykolaiv. 

Russia was allegedly planning an airstrike in the area with the help of the arrested woman. That attempt to kill Zelensky came on the heels of “several known attempts on his life since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022,” CNN noted.