Ukraine's top spy on plots to kill him: This means we are doing our job properly

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), believes that Russian plots to assassinate him mean that Ukraine's special services, including the HUR, are doing their job properly.

He stated this in an interview with NV, Ukrinform reports.

"I like it all. This means that we are doing our job properly. If they suddenly stop being interested in me, that will be a problem," Budanov said.

Asked who is the key instigator of his murder in Russian agencies, Budanov stated that in general there were many people who tried and are trying to kill him, from different directions.

"However, as we can see, the effectiveness is zero," he said.

In May 2024, Ukraine's SBU State Security Service announced that they had foiled plans by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) to kill President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top Ukrainian military and political leaders. In particular, two colonels from Ukraine's State Guard Administration who were passing secret information to the Russians were detained in Ukraine.

According to the investigation, FSB agents were tasked with searching for executors among the military close to the president's security team who could take the head of state hostage and later kill him. In addition to Zelensky, the enemy also planned to assassinate SBU Chief Vasyl Maliuk, Budanov, and other high-ranking officials.