On Monday, Ukrainian officials said they had foiled a coup attempt by arresting people who had plotted to stage a riot in Kiev.
Ukraine’s internal security service, known as the SBU, said a group of activists were detained for attempting to create riots over the weekend that would lead to the ouster of the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The alleged attempt took place Sunday as Ukraine marked the anniversary of its constitution.
The SBU did not name the individuals and it is unclear whether they have ties to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022 and has made multiple attempts to target Zelensky. But the main conspirator behind the alleged coup is part of a non-profit government organization (NGO) known to be anti-Ukraine, the security service said, and other NGOs in Ukraine may also have been involved.
According to the SBU, the accused attempted to organize a peaceful demonstration and then storm the Ukrainian parliament building with the aim of capturing it.
“The organizers planned to spread the information about the ‘unrest’ in Kiev through domestic and foreign information sources,” the SBU said in a press release. “In this way, they hoped to undermine the socio-political situation in Ukraine, which would play into the hands of Russia.”
According to the authorities, the individuals were arrested before the riots broke out and face up to 10 years in prison.
During the war with Russia, the SBU is on standby to detain individuals and prevent internal disruptions of the Ukrainian army and government.
Ukrainian forces are currently fighting to stop the Russian advance in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, while Moscow is also advancing on the eastern front line in the Donetsk region.
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