Ukrainian state security said earlier this week it had unearthed an assassination plot including two state guards.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired the head of the state guard following allegations that two members were involved in a plot to assassinate the Ukrainian head of state.
Zelenskyy fired former state guard leader Serhiy Rud on Thursday after the state security service (SBU) said earlier this week that it had uncovered an assassination plot against Zelenskyy and other top officials. Rud’s successor has not yet been named.
The SBU said the killings were intended as a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he was sworn in for a new term on Tuesday.
The SBU said the two men, both state guard colonels, planned to take Zelenskyy hostage and then kill him.
Other top officials, including SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk and Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the military intelligence agency, were also considered targets of the failed effort.
Moscow did not comment on the SBU’s allegations, which alleged that the two bodyguards had passed sensitive information to the FSB, Russia’s security service.
It is not the first assassination effort the Ukrainian leader has faced, saying last year that at least five Russian plots had been foiled since the start of the war.
Zelenskyy’s administration has faced increasing difficulties in recent months and has shaken up some key staff positions as progress in the country’s war against Russia stalls and officials face corruption allegations.
In February, Zelenskyy appointed Oleksandr Syrskyii as the new army chief after dismissing General Valerii Zaluzhny from the post.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
