[5][6] In May 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) arrested two army colonels who were engaged in a plot to kidnap Zelenskyy and deliver him to Russian President Vladimir Putin, or, should that prove too difficult, assassinate him.

[2][4][3] The SBU then published photos of the four ring leaders who had been arrested, with their faces blurred, stating that they were all residents of Ivano-Frankivsk and known pro-Russian agitators who had a history of attending anti-government protests.

[10][11] The plotters plans outlined spreading false information throughout the country via social media "to destabilise the socio-political situation within [Ukraine], which would play out in favour of the Russian Federation.

[2] The plotters had rented a hall in Kyiv that could accommodate upwards of 2,000, and were supposedly in contact with elements of the military and several mercenary groups to recruit them to their cause.

[2] The office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general said the alleged leader of the plot is a head of a non-governmental entity, who had "the experience of participating in fruitless provocative events" prior to the coup attempt.