Ukraine Has Arrested a Woman It Says Was Involved in Plot to Kill Zelenskyy

Ukraine’s secret service has said a woman has been arrested after being caught “red-handed” for trying to pass intelligence to Russia.

The SBU said the woman was involved in a plot to kill Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that she had tried to find out the Ukrainian President’s movements on his visit to flood-hit Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, in June.

It released photographs of the suspect, who has not been identified, along with its agents on Monday. 

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed Russia was planning to hit Mykolaiv with a "massive airstrike" and that the woman was trying to hand over information about the whereabouts of electronic warfare systems and warehouses with ammunition that Moscow could hit.

Ukraine says it noticed the “subversive activities of the suspect” and foiled the plan before it could be enacted by adding extra security precautions. 

The SBU said agents followed her after the visit to find out more about her actions and "assignments received" by the Russians. 

It claimed that the woman had driven around the Mykolaiv area and took photos and video of military facilities before “trying to pass intelligence to the invaders.”

The suspect is expected to be charged with unauthorised dissemination of information about the movements of weapons and troops and could face up to 12 years in jail.

Ukraine says that Zelenskyy has survived multiple assassination or kidnapping attempts by Russia since Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale military invasion of the country in February last year.