Ukraine’s Zelensky fires head of State Guard over assassination plot Russian-Ukrainian war news

Ukraine’s state security services said earlier this week that they had uncovered an assassination plot involving two state guards.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has fired the head of the State Guard following allegations that two of its members were involved in a plot to assassinate the 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 uncovered a plot to assassinate Zelensky and other top officials. Rudd’s successor has not yet been named.

Ukraine’s security service said the killings were intended as a “gift” for 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 then kill him.

Other senior officials, including SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk and Kirilo Budanov, head of the Military Intelligence Agency, were also reportedly targets of the failed attempt.

Moscow did not comment on the allegations by the Ukrainian Security Service, which alleged that the two bodyguards passed sensitive information to the Russian Federal Security Service.

This is not the first assassination attempt the Ukrainian leader has faced, as he claimed 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 allegations.

In February, Zelensky appointed Oleksandr Sirsky as the new army chief after dismissing General Valery Zalozhny from his post.