UKRAINIAN counterintelligence investigators claimed today to have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top military and political figures.

Two colonels in Ukraine’s state guard, which protects top officials, were detained on suspicion of treason, which carries a life sentence, by seeking to enact the plan drawn up by Russia's federal security service, a statement said. 

According to the statement, Russian intelligence agents targeting Mr Zelensky sought out members of the Ukrainian military close to the president's security detail who could take him hostage and later kill him. The officers were recruited before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.