Ukraine: The chief of the state guard was dismissed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy due to claims that two of its soldiers were complicit in a plan to kill the country’s beleaguered leader.
Following the announcement earlier this week by the state security service (SBU) that it had discovered an assassination plan against Zelenskyy and other high-ranking officials, Zelenskyy fired former state guard chief Serhiy Rud on Thursday. Rud’s replacement has not yet been announced.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, was given a “gift” on Tuesday when he took the oath of office, according to the SBU.
According to the SBU, Zelenskyy was going to be killed, and the two men, who were both colonels in the state guard, were going to take him hostage.
The head of the military intelligence agency, Kyrylo Budanov, and SBU chief, Vasyl Maliuk, were reportedly among the other important officials who were targeted by the botched attempt.
Moscow has not responded to the SBU’s accusations that the two bodyguards had given the Russian security agency, the FSB, vital information.
The head of Ukraine has already said that since the start of the war, at least five Russian plots have been thwarted, so this is not the first attempt at assassination.
Growing challenges have beset Zelenskyy’s administration in recent months, and as the nation’s campaign against Russia drags and officials are accused of corruption, the administration has shook up some important staffing positions.
In February, General Valerii Zaluzhny was removed from his post by Zelenskyy, who then appointed Oleksandr Syrskyii as the new army head.
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