Volodymyr Zelensky's Alleged Assassination Plot: Plane Dodges 'Very Expensive, Large' Military Drones

President Volodymyr Zelensky remains at the centre of a relentless campaign to eliminate Ukraine's wartime leadership, and security officials now believe a new and highly sophisticated assassination attempt may have emerged.

According to European intelligence sources, Zelensky's aircraft allegedly encountered several large, military-style drones during his diplomatic trip to Ireland on 1 December 2025 — a claim still under analysis but broadly consistent with past Russian efforts to sabotage or intercept the President's movements abroad.

While details remain under investigation, officials say the alleged incident reflects the evolution of a shadow war targeting Zelensky's travel routes, both inside and far beyond Ukraine's borders.

The New Aerial Threat And The Confirmed Facts

The dramatic claim regarding Zelensky's plane dodging 'very expensive, large' military drones must be viewed in light of facts about previous Russian assassination attempts.

The most recent drone incident reportedly occurred as Zelensky's plane approached Dublin Airport in Ireland on Monday, 1 December 2025, during his first official visit to the country.

Irish security sources classified the incident as a hybrid attack. While the deployment of large military drones to intercept a plane is a significant escalation, Ukrainian security services (SBU) and Polish authorities have already foiled plots relying on smaller, but equally lethal, unmanned aerial vehicles.

In a highly publicised instance, Polish intelligence arrested a citizen, identified as Paweł K., who was indicted for allegedly collaborating with Russian intelligence to gather information on the Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport.

The Polish suspect was reportedly tasked with aiding a plot to physically eliminate Zelensky while he was travelling, using methods that included a sniper rifle or a First-Person View (FPV) drone,a small, highly manoeuvrable, and surprisingly effective weapon.

Furthermore, SBU investigations have previously uncovered plans where military assets, including missiles and drones, were central to plots orchestrated by internal traitors. This pattern confirms that the Russian strategy has evolved past simple ground assassination teams, embracing aerial technology to target the President both in Ukraine and during transit abroad.

The Persistence Of The 'Decapitation Strategy'

The ceaseless stream of foiled assassination attempts confirms that the 'decapitation strategy',the attempt to eliminate Ukraine's political leadership, remains a cornerstone of the Kremlin's war aims. Early in the 2022 invasion, reports detailed that hundreds of Russian mercenaries, including those from the Wagner Group and Chechen commandos, were deployed to Kyiv with explicit orders to kill or capture the leadership.

The recent discovery of treasonous plots, such as the May 2024 arrest of two Ukrainian colonels who were allegedly reporting to Russia's Federal Security Service(FSB), demonstrates the depth and resilience of the threat.

The arrested officials, part of the very State Guard responsible for protecting the President, were accused of working with Russian handlers to facilitate the assassination of Zelensky and other senior officials.

SBU head Vasyl Malyuk noted that the assassins were also tasked with killing Major General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR). This espionage underscores that the most immediate threats often come from within, compounding the extreme logistical and technological challenges of providing secure transport for the President, whether by ground convoy or aircraft.

Global Travel And The Security Challenge

For Ukraine, protecting its President during his crucial diplomatic journeys presents a formidable security challenge. Since the invasion, Zelensky has become a globally recognised figure, but his attendance at international summits and visits to capitals is essential to securing vital Western aid and maintaining the global coalition against Russia.

Places like Rzeszów, situated near the Ukrainian border, serve as critical logistical and diplomatic hubs. However, the consistent targeting of these sites demonstrates the high priority placed on gathering intelligence on the President's movements.

Protecting air travel against sophisticated, state-level drone surveillance or attack requires immense counter-intelligence and air defence co-operation with allies.

The drones in the Dublin incident reportedly breached a no-fly zone, flew towards the aircraft's scheduled landing time, and later orbited an Irish naval vessel (LÉ William Butler Yeats) that had been secretly deployed for the visit.

The repeated nature of these attempts, whether through snipers, FPV drones, or the theatrical military aircraft scenario, underscores that no method is too extreme or too expensive for those determined to remove Ukraine's figurehead, ensuring that the personal security of President Zelensky remains one of the most demanding tasks in contemporary global security.