Ukraine’s state security services said earlier this week that they had discovered an assassination plot involving two state guards.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked the head of the State Guard after allegations that two of its members were involved in a plot to assassinate the embattled Ukrainian head of state.
Zelensky fired former State Guard commander Serhiy Rud on Thursday, after the State Security Service said earlier this week it had discovered a plot to assassinate Zelensky and other important officials. Rudd’s successor has not yet been named.
Ukraine’s security service said the assassinations were intended to be a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he was sworn in for a new term on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian security service said the two men, both colonels in the State Guard, planned to hold Zelensky hostage and later kill him.
Other key officials, including the head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, and Kirilo Budanov, the head of the Military Intelligence Agency, were also said to have been targets of the failed attempt.
Moscow did not comment on the allegations of the Ukrainian Security Service, which claimed that the two bodyguards passed sensitive information to the Russian Federal Security Service.
This is not the first assassination attempt that the Ukrainian leader has faced, as he stated last year that at least five Russian plots had been thwarted since the start of the war.
Zelensky’s administration has faced increasing difficulties in recent months, shuffling some key positions as progress in the country’s war against Russia stalls and officials face corruption charges.
In February, Zelensky appointed Oleksandr Sirsky as the new army chief after dismissing General Valery Zalozhny from his post.