Polish and Ukrainian security services disrupted an attempt to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Rzeszów airport in April 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on June 23.

The head of the SBU told a press briefing that intelligence services from both countries had prevented two assassination attempts on the Ukrainian leader – one in Kyiv and another in Poland.

A retired Polish soldier, reportedly recruited many years ago and motivated by Soviet ideology, had been reactivated by Russian intelligence to carry out the operation, Malyuk said.

“His task was to physically eliminate President Zelenskiy at Rzeszów airport,” Malyuk said. The airport serves as the main hub for supporting Ukraine with military and other help. It has also been used by Zelensky a number of times on his trips to Poland and further West.

According to Malyuk, the plot involved two potential methods: a sniper system or an FPV drone. The SBU and Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) conducted a joint operation that led to the suspect’s capture.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Internal Security Agency of Poland – we carried out an important criminal investigation together with them,” Malyuk said.

Polish Minister for Internal Affairs Tomasz Siemoniak wrote on X that the attempt was thwarted in April 2024 and that the suspect, identified as Paweł K., was taken into custody by ABW officers. He added that formal charges were filed in May 2025.

Polish authorities found that the suspect had expressed willingness to cooperate with Russian military intelligence, GRU. His assignment allegedly included collecting information about Rzeszów-Jasionka airport to assist in preparations for a potential assassination attempt.

The case remains under investigation by the National Prosecutor’s Office in coordination with the SBU and Ukrainian prosecutors.