Man arrested in Poland over ‘Zelensky assassination plot’

A Polish man has been arrested for allegedly trying to help Russia assassinate Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Warsaw and Kiev have said.

The suspect, who was identified as Pawel K. in a statement released on Thursday by the National Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, has been charged with expressing willingness to work with a foreign power against national interests. The alleged crime carries a potential prison sentence of up to eight years.

Polish officials claimed the suspect was planning to provide intelligence that would “among other things, help Russian special services plan a possible attempt on the life of the head of a foreign state – Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.”

Specifically, Pawel K. is accused of trying to share information about Rzeszow–Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland. The facility serves as a major logistics hub for weapons and munitions provided by NATO members to Ukraine.

The SBU, Kiev’s successor to the KGB, repeated the allegations in a statement of its own, including claims that Zelensky could be targeted, while hailing the arrest as a major success for both nations.

The Ukrainian leader has claimed that Russia has been trying to kill him for years, and that multiple plots have been prevented by his security detail.

However, Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, has told journalists that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally assured him in March 2022 that Moscow would not kill Zelensky.