KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian counterintelligence investigators have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top military and political figures, Ukraine’s state security service said Tuesday.
Two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine, which protects top officials, were detained on suspicion of enacting the plan drawn up by Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, a statement said. The colonels were recruited before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to the statement.
It quoted the head of the State Security Service, Vasyl Maliuk, as saying the plot foresaw an attack before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a fifth term on Tuesday. Maliuk said that he personally oversaw the top-secret operation to track the plot.
Ukrainian claims of Russian efforts to kill Zelenskyy aren't new. Zelensky said in 2022 there has been at least 10 attempts to assassinate him, and now the war with Russia has stretched into its third year.
Also, prosecutors in Poland said last month that a Polish man had been arrested on allegations of being ready to spy on behalf of Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy’s movements are kept secret for security reasons, and his visits around the country are publicly announced only after he has left. News of events he holds in Kyiv is usually embargoed until they are over.
Zelenskyy has proved to be a valuable asset for his country as the war against Ukraine’s bigger neighbor grinds on, and as Kyiv's depleted forces wait for more troops and weapons. He has urged his people to keep fighting and instilled a belief that Ukraine can prevail.
The Ukrainian statement said the Russian intelligence agents targeting Zelenskyy sought out members of the Ukrainian military close to the president’s security detail who could take the head of state hostage and later kill him. The operation was run from Moscow, it said, providing the names of three alleged Russian spies behind the conspiracy.
The broader plan was to identify the location of senior Ukrainian officials and target them with a rocket attack, followed by drones and missiles.
The two Ukrainian colonels were arrested on suspicion of treason, which carries a life sentence, the statement said.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
FILE - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Ukrainian counterintelligence investigators have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top military and political figures, Ukraine’s state security service said Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
GENEVA (AP) — With an assist from Paul McCartney the Paralympic Games starts its 100-day race on Monday to the opening ceremony in Paris in August.
The former Beatle has let “We All Stand Together” — the signature tune from an award-winning animated film he wrote and produced 40 years ago — be used in a promotional film for the International Paralympic Committee.
“Sir Paul really understands what we stand for as a movement and he was so generous to us,” IPC president Andrew Parsons told The Associated Press. “He was not difficult to convince, it was something that came very naturally.”
In 100 days from Monday, the Summer Paralympics opening ceremony on Aug. 28 will play out along a section of the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde. The 4,400 athletes taking part will compete over the following 11 days watched by up to 2.7 million spectators in venues including ones beneath the Eiffel Tower and at Versailles Palace.
“We have probably the most famous avenue in the world,” Parsons said in a recent interview. “That is really exciting. The city is really embracing Paralympic athletes, athletes with disabilities.”
“With our games we talk a lot about inclusion and it’s a good symbol of that. That very welcoming attitude is I think a very good start to our games.”
A turning point for the Paralympic movement came in London in 2012 when the host country rose to the occasion with huge ticket sales and a radically fresh approach to broadcasting it by Britain’s Channel 4.
“Still the benchmark games of our movement,” said Parsons, whose home nation Brazil hosted in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
To promote those Rio Paralympics, Channel 4 produced the “We’re the Superhumans” musical film that was a landmark of high-production values and inspirational images.
“Many broadcasters come to us in their preparations in different parts of the world and they normally ask, ‘What is Channel 4 doing?’” Parsons said. The IPC's trailer inspired by McCartney's “Rupert and the Frog Song” film is in that tradition.
The Paris Paralympics will have a record 164 broadcasters worldwide covering 549 events across 22 sports.
Beyond the field of play, the Paralympics has the aim — and past achievements — of changing society, especially in the host nation.
In France and Paris, Parsons, acknowledged, “there still is a lot of work to do when it comes to the mindset of the people and their perceptions of persons with disability.
“It has progressed since they got the games in 2017 but still there is a long way to go. And it doesn’t finish with the closing ceremony.”
Two weeks after the Paralympics close on Sept. 8 the United Nations hosts a global meeting Parsons hopes can drive change.
At the Summit of the Future on Sept. 22-23 the UN will measure progress towards its 17 sustainable development goals.
“We do believe our movement has, in terms of persons of disability been a little bit left behind, if you compare to other human rights movements such as gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity,” Parsons said. “They have been more preeminent in the big debates at the highest possible level.
“We believe that these (Paris) games will be able to really remind global leaders that there is 1.2 billion persons with disabilities out there that need to be included in those conversations.”
AP Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
FILE - The padded hands of Diane Roy of Canada are seen as she waits to compete in the women' 800-meter T54 heat at the 2012 Paralympics games, on Sept. 4, 2012, in London. With an assist from Paul McCartney, the Paralympic Games starts its 100-day race Monday to the opening ceremony in Paris in August. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
FILE - Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee of the Paris 2024 Games, speaks during a media conference in Paris, on Aug. 28, 2023. With an assist from Paul McCartney, the Paralympic Games starts its 100-day race Monday to the opening ceremony in Paris in August. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
Republican Guards ride up the Champs-Elysees avenue during ceremonies marking the 79th anniversary of Victory Day, Wednesday, May 8, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)
The Britain versus Netherlands sitting volleyball preliminary match at the 2012 Paralympics, on Sept. 1, 2012, in London. Netherlands won the match. With an assist from Paul McCartney, the Paralympic Games starts its 100-day race Monday to the opening ceremony in Paris in August(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
FILE - Paul McCartney performs at Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, on June 25, 2022. With an assist from Paul McCartney, the Paralympic Games starts its 100-day race Monday to the opening ceremony in Paris in August. (Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)
