Poland Convicts Russian Spy Who Planned Assassination of Zelensky

In Poland, a man has been found guilty of spying for Russian intelligence after preparing an assassination attempt on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2024.

Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for the coordinator of Poland’s special services, confirmed the information.

Investigators found that Pavel K. had voluntarily offered to cooperate with Russian intelligence and carry out its assignments. His tasks included passing information to Russia about security measures at Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport, which was intended to be used to plan an assassination attempt on Zelensky.

He also stated that he was willing to join the Wagner private military company and a military unit of Russia’s military intelligence.

The District Court in Zamość found the Polish citizen guilty of the charges and sentenced him to three years and six months in prison.

In June 2025, Vasyl Maliuk, then–Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, announced that an assassination attempt on the President of Ukraine had been thwarted at Rzeszów Airport.

The suspect turned out to be a Polish national, a retired military officer, who had been recruited by Russian intelligence decades ago.

The agent was tasked with physically eliminating President Zelenskyy. To carry this out, he considered using either an FPV drone or a sniper rifle.

“A military retiree, a Pole, who was recruited decades ago and firmly believed in the Soviet ideology, nurturing this intent over the years. So he – this ‘sleeper agent’ – was activated,” Maliuk said.

The assassination attempt was foiled by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine in cooperation with their counterparts from Polish special services.

Rzeszów Airport in Poland is the primary transit hub for flights to Ukraine and is used by government delegations on foreign trips. In addition, it is actively used to receive military supplies for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.