Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the head of his personal protection unit, Serhiy Rud, following the detention of two top officials over an alleged assassination plot.
Rud, who has led the president’s security detail since 2019, was relieved of his duties without explanation in a brief presidential decree.
The state guard administration (UDO), responsible for the safety of key figures in Ukraine, including the president, is under scrutiny after two colonels from the state guard were detained on suspicion of being part of a network linked to Russia’s FSB security service.
Zelensky has previously mentioned Russian assassination plots against him, but this recent revelation involves his own entourage and also targeted military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov and SBU state security service head Vasyl Malyuk.
Malyuk revealed that the plot aimed to present a “gift to Putin” before his fifth term as president started.
The plot allegedly involved kidnapping and killing Zelensky by individuals close to his bodyguard, while Budanov would have been attacked with rockets, drones, and anti-tank grenades, according to the SBU.
While there’s no indication that Rud had any involvement in the allegations, one of the detained colonels, Andriy Huk, was reportedly a personal friend of his from their time studying together in the border troops academy.
Rud, a major general with a long military career focused on state security, has been a key figure in Ukraine’s security apparatus.
Zelensky has frequently made changes in Ukraine’s security forces, including the recent announcement of the replacement of special forces commander Col Serhiy Lupanchuk. Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who previously led Ukraine’s defence during the invasion, was also replaced and appointed as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK.
Source-BBC
