UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Jul. 31 — A man with an accomplice tried to assassinate Ihor Obolenskyi, the commander of the 2nd Corps Khartiia, said Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President.

The president said that the man and his accomplice were detained. The necessary procedural actions are currently underway.

Later, Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian media outlet, citing its police sources, reported that law enforcement had detained a 69-year-old man in Kharkiv. Police seized a gun and ammunition from the suspect.

According to journalists, the attacker approached Obolenskyi from behind, but his weapon failed to fire.

The man told police that he had been recruited by Russian intelligence services, also known as FSB, posing as Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU). They allegedly convinced him that Khartiia commander Obolenskyi was a “traitor.”

As evidence, the Russians sent the man an AI-generated image showing Obolenskyi wearing a t-shirt with the Russian symbol “Z,” a sign of support for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The suspect also said that, following instructions from his superviser, he had received the weapon from an unidentified person in Kharkiv.

Khartiia was formed as a volunteer unit at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 to help defend the Kharkiv oblast. In 2023, it was reorganized into the 13th operational brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine and fought in the eastern part of the front line, including the Kupiansk-Lyman axis.

In April 2025, the National Guard established two corps, including the 2nd Khartiia Corps, which was formed based on the 13th brigade. Ihor Obolenskyi was appointed commander of the corps.

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