Kyiv Thwarts Alleged Russian-Backed Assassination Attempt on Zelensky

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at alleged Russian assassination attempts against key Ukrainian leaders, Israel’s military campaign in Rafah, and a new constitution for Togo.

Failed Hit on Zelensky

Kyiv foiled what it said was a Russian-coordinated plot to assassinate senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s security service announced on Tuesday. Federal authorities arrested two Ukrainian security officials on suspicion of treason, which carries a life sentence, and of preparing a terrorist act. Russian President Vladimir Putin provided no immediate response to the allegation.

The detained colonels were allegedly part of a network of agents led by three Russian state security members and were recruited before the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Among other plans, Ukrainian officials said, the two men were tasked with finding people close to Zelensky’s security detail who could help kidnap and later kill the president.

The plot also reportedly targeted military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov and security service chief Vasyl Malyuk. Ukrainian officials said the suspects planned to kill Budanov before Orthodox Easter, which fell on May 5 this year, by providing information on his whereabouts to target him in a rocket and drone strike.

Kyiv usually remains tight-lipped about assassination attempts against senior officials, of which there have been several since Russia’s war against Ukraine began. Zelensky told Italian media in March that his security services had informed him of more than 10 such attempts on his life. These include the Ukrainian State Guard arresting a woman last August for trying to uncover details about Zelensky’s movements outside of Kyiv, and Polish and Ukrainian prosecutors charging a man last month for aiding a Russian assassination scheme.

The most recent plot was supposed to be “a gift to Putin before the inauguration,” Malyuk said. Putin was sworn in on Tuesday for his fifth presidential term, which will last six years. The Russian leader won 87 percent of the vote in March after he barred or imprisoned all credible opposition candidates. Election watchdogs called the vote a sham election, and many Western diplomats boycotted Tuesday’s event.

The inauguration ceremony took place on the same day that a Russian court announced that it would hold U.S. Staff Sgt. Gordon Black in custody for at least two months. The 34-year-old soldier was reportedly detained in Vladivostok, close to Russia’s border with North Korea, last Thursday and charged with criminal misconduct. Due to travel home after being stationed in South Korea, Black, who is married, allegedly detoured to Russia without permission from his superior officers to visit a woman that he was romantically involved with. Russian authorities said he then stole roughly $2,200 from her.

Republican U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, posted on X on Monday that he is “deeply concerned” by the arrest reports, adding that “Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage,” including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan. A U.S. State Department official reiterated a warning on Monday against U.S. citizens traveling to Russia.

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What We’re Following

Rafah offensive. Israeli forces seized “operational control” of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday after carrying out an overnight raid that Israel said killed 20 combatants and uncovered three operational Hamas tunnels. The Rafah border crossing connects southern Gaza with Egypt and provides a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid into the enclave.

The operation came mere hours after Israel ordered around 100,000 residents of Rafah to evacuate immediately ahead of a ground offensive on the city. Foreign leaders and rights groups have denounced Israel’s plans, citing humanitarian concerns for the roughly 1.4 million people sheltering in Rafah. “Make no mistake. A full-scale assault on Rafah would be a human catastrophe,” United Nations chief António Guterres said on Tuesday, urging Israel to reopen the border crossing. However, Israel said Rafah is Hamas’s last major holdout, and Israeli leaders appear set on continuing the operation until the last Hamas brigade in the city is destroyed “or until the return of the first hostage to Israel,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday.

The offensive coincides with cease-fire negotiations in Cairo this week. On Tuesday, Hamas suggested that it would free 33 hostages that it is holding captive in Gaza, and if the group was unable to locate enough living hostages, “the number of this category will be completed from the corpses.” Some officials fear that there may not be 33 living hostages left in Gaza, but an Israeli source told CNN that Israel won’t agree to the proposal because it would be tantamount to giving Hamas the “license to kill” the remaining living captives. The original truce proposal suggested that the first wave of released hostages include women, children, older adults, and the sick.

Gnassingbé’s reign. Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé signed a new constitution late Monday that will likely extend his nearly 20-year rule. Gnassingbé is running up against term limits in his current role. The new charter will move Togo from a presidential to a parliamentary system, wherein the new president of the council of ministers, effectively a prime minister, can serve indefinitely. The presidency will become a largely ceremonial post.

Gnassingbé’s Union for the Republic party won a sweeping majority of parliamentary seats in recent general elections, the nation’s electoral commission announced last Saturday. This puts Gnassingbé on a path to become the president of the council of ministers. The Gnassingbé family has ruled Togo for almost all of the nation’s post-independence history.

Strikes on the PKK. Turkey launched airstrikes against northern Iraq on Monday, reportedly killing 16 members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), including some commanders. The attack targeted separatists in the Hakurk, Metina, and Gara regions of semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. Both Turkey and Iraq consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization.

Ankara has sought closer ties with Baghdad in recent weeks to combat the militant group. Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to “permanently” eliminate the PKK and has since ordered numerous ground operations against separatists in northern Iraq. Strengthened bilateral ties culminated last month, when Erdogan visited Iraq for the first time in 12 years.

Odds and Ends

Forget Monday’s Met Gala. “Vogue” was all the rage this weekend after Madonna concluded her latest world tour with a free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach. An estimated 1.6 million people packed the sand for renditions of “Like a Prayer” and “Into the Groove.” Brazilian artists Anitta and Pabllo Vittar also joined the pop star onstage for her record-setting show. “Here we are, the most beautiful place in the world,” Madonna said of Brazil.