Caught by edition.cnn.com
Ukraine has foiled an alleged plot to overthrow the government that “would have played into Russia’s hands,” security officials in the war-torn country said Monday.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stated in a Telegram post that the purported coup planners intended to start a riot in Kyiv on June 30 to divert attention from their plans to take over the Ukrainian parliament and overthrow the country’s military and political leadership.
Uncertainty surrounds the accused’s relationship with Russia, which for nearly two and a half years has been engaged in a disastrous full-scale invasion against its neighbor to the southwest.
According to the SBU, two of the four identified suspects are being detained in custody. If proven guilty, they could spend up to 10 years behind bars. According to the SBU, it confiscated firearms and ammo in addition to computers, cell phones, and other documents.
“with evidence of criminal action.”
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The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine claims that the putative leader of the coup rented a 2,000-person auditorium and hired armed guards and military troops from private companies to “carry out the seizure” of parliament. It’s unclear if investigators are looking for additional suspects.
“To implement the criminal plan, the main organizer involved several accomplices—representatives of the community organizations from Kyiv, Dnipro, and other regions,” the SBU said.
The reported plan in Kyiv coincides with Russia’s gradual but noticeable victories on the battlefield in recent months, taking advantage of Ukraine’s dwindling personnel, reliance on Western weapons, and doubt regarding the security of that military assistance.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian forces launched a missile strike on the southern town of Vilniansk on Saturday, killing seven people, including three children. President Volodymyr Zelensky then called for the deployment of more long-range weapons.
“I am grateful to all partners who are helping. And the decisions we need must be accelerated. Any delay in decisions in this war means losing human lives,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Fears regarding the US military’s future support for Ukraine have increased in light of the prospect of another Trump presidency.
In the previous week’s presidential debate, Trump asked if America ought to keep supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
Oleksiy Goncharenko, a legislator from Ukraine, told CNN that Trump’s remarks regarding the conflict in his country were “worrying.”
