|
2024 Ukrainian coup attempt allegations
On 1 July 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that it had foiled a pro-Russian attempt to overthrow the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by members of a Kyiv-based NGO.[2][3][4][1] BackgroundIn February 2024, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine said that a coup may be attempted in the spring of 2024.[5][6] In May 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) arrested two army colonels who were engaged in a plot to kidnap Zelenskyy and deliver him to Russian President Vladimir Putin, or, should that prove too difficult, assassinate him.[7][2][8] EventsThe SBU announced that the plotters were preparing to detain the government and "announce the ‘removal from power’ of the current military-political leadership of Ukraine" before then seizing the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's national parliament) to prevent its ability to respond.[2][4][3] The SBU then published photos of the four ring leaders who had been arrested, with their faces blurred, stating that they were all residents of Ivano-Frankivsk and known pro-Russian agitators who had a history of attending anti-government protests.[2][1] The SBU also reported that they had seized a cache of assault rifles, sniper rifles, handguns, ammunition, laptops, mobile phones and hand-drawn coup instructions.[2] The centerpiece of the plot was to trigger a riot on June 30 as a distraction to seize control of various buildings.[2][9] They also planned to storm the Verkhovna Rada building.[10][11] The plotters plans outlined spreading false information throughout the country via social media "to destabilise the socio-political situation within [Ukraine], which would play out in favour of the Russian Federation."[2][3] The plotters were spread throughout the country, operating in cells of no more than three, and communicated to one another through instant messaging via Telegram.[2] The leader of the plot stated that they would have organized as a "Veche" and would have sought public support.[2] The plotters had rented a hall in Kyiv that could accommodate upwards of 2,000, and were supposedly in contact with elements of the military and several mercenary groups to recruit them to their cause.[3][9] The SBU said that as well as mobilising in Kyiv, the coup plotters had grassroots organisations in Dnipro and other Ukrainian cities.[2] The office of Ukraine’s prosecutor general said the alleged leader of the plot is a head of a non-governmental entity, who had "the experience of participating in fruitless provocative events" prior to the coup attempt.[9] Four suspects have been identified and two currently are in the SBU's custody. They face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.[12] Reactions
See alsoReferences
Notes
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg){kind=small}
