By Our Correspondents
Ukraine’s SBU security forces announced on Monday that they had thwarted a Russia-backed coup aimed at overthrowing President Volodymyr Zelensky and establishing a pro-Kremlin government. According to the SBU, the plotters intended to incite riots under the guise of a rally in central Kyiv and subsequently seize the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.
The SBU stated, “The perpetrators planned to announce the ‘removal from power’ of the current military-political leadership of Ukraine. They then hoped to seize the building of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada and block its work.” The coup was scheduled to coincide with Ukraine’s Constitution Day on June 30.
Photographs released on Monday showed officers in balaclavas arresting several alleged conspirators on Sunday. The primary focus of the operations was in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of western Ukraine.
The coup plotters were identified as known pro-Russia agitators who had stashed weapons, including assault rifles, a sniper rifle, and handguns. Authorities also found cartons of ammunition, laptops, mobile phones, and hand-drawn coup plans during the raids.
“The perpetrators planned to disseminate information about the ‘unrest’ in Kyiv through domestic and foreign information resources,” the SBU noted. “They hoped to destabilize the socio-political situation within our country, which would benefit the Russian Federation.”
The SBU disclosed that the coup was organized by a “co-founder of a public organization known for its anti-Ukrainian actions since 2015” but did not name the individual. The Kremlin has not commented, but Western intelligence has previously reported numerous assassination attempts against President Zelensky have been foiled. In May, the SBU arrested two Ukrainian colonels plotting to kill Zelensky; they had planned to kidnap and then execute the president.
Sunday’s alleged coup plot was broader in scope than the May assassination attempt. The SBU revealed that the coup plotters had mobilized in Kyiv and had grassroots organizations in Dnipro and other Ukrainian cities. “They communicated with each other via various instant messengers and, if they met, did so in small groups of three,” the SBU stated.
As evidence, the SBU released an alleged voice recording of a conversation between two coup leaders, one of whom claimed to have the support of “not hundreds, but thousands” of people. “We are officially going to organize ourselves as a Veche,” the leader said, using a term for a council or assembly in medieval Slavic city-states. “We need to gather as many people as possible.”
The SBU warned that if convicted, the alleged plotters could face up to 10 years in prison. Ukrainian intelligence has indicated that the Kremlin has intensified its efforts to destabilize Ukraine and target its government. Western governments have also cautioned that Kremlin agents have become increasingly active in Europe.
