Reports reaching the desk of Africa Today News, New York has it that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sacked the head of the state guards following allegations that two members were involved in a plot to assassinate him.
Zelensky dismissed Serhiy Rud who is the former leader of the state guard, after the State Security Service uncovered an assassination plot against Zelensky and other important officials earlier this week.
Meanwhile, successor for Rud has yet to be named.
The SBU alleged that the assassinations were meant to be a “gift” for Russian President Vladimir Putin as he was sworn in for a new term in office on Tuesday.
The SBU said that the two men, both colonels in the state guard, had planned to take Zelenskyy hostage and later kill him.
Other key officials, including SBU head Vasyl Maliuk and Kyrylo Budanov, the military intelligence agency’s head, were also said to be targets of the failed effort.
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Moscow is yet to comment on the allegations by the SBU, which alleged that the two bodyguards had passed on sensitive information to the FSB, Russia’s security service.
It is not the first assassination effort that the Ukrainian leader has faced down, stating last year that at least five Russian plots have been foiled since the war began in 2022 after Russia invaded its neighbors.
Zelenskyy’s administration has faced growing difficulties in recent months, and has shaken up some key staffing positions as progress in the country’s war against Russia stalls out and officials face accusations of corruption.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that sometime in February, Zelenskyy named Oleksandr Syrskyii as the new army chief after dismissing General Valerii Zaluzhny from the position.