Ukrainian Security Agency Claims To Thwart Coup Efforts By Triggering Riots In Kyiv On June 30

JAKARTA - Ukraine managed to thwart an alleged plan to overthrow a government that "will benefit Russia," the country's security official said on Monday.

In a Telegram post, the Ukrainian Security Agency (SBU) claimed that alleged coup organizers planned to spark unrest in Kyiv on June 30, as a diversion to seize control of Ukraine's parliament, removing military and political leadership from power.

It is unclear whether the defendants had ties to Russia, which has launched a devastating full-scale invasion of its southwest neighbor for nearly two and a half years.

Four suspects have been identified, with two people detained, SBU said, as reported by CNN July 2.

They face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. SBU said it had seized weapons and ammunition, as well as cell phones, computers and other records "with evidence of criminal acts."

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Attorney General's Office said the suspected coup leader rented a 2,000-capacity hall, recruiting military personnel and armed escorts from private companies to "hold the confiscation" of parliament. It is unclear whether the prosecutor is looking for other suspects.

"To carry out these criminal plans, the main organizers involved several accomplices to representatives of community organizations from Kyiv, Dnipro, and other regions," said SBU.

Citing The New York Times, the plan bears similarities to a series of other efforts that have been reported by the Ukrainian security service, even before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

For example, in November 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference his security services had thwarted plans to overthrow his government.

Just a month before the Kremlin ordered a full-scale invasion, the British government said Moscow was developing plans to organize a coup in Ukraine to appoint pro-Russian leaders.

At the time, intelligence officials said they expressed their concerns about Russia's interference in Ukraine's internal affairs to the public to try to prevent further escalation.

President Zelensky said earlier this year his security services had told him of more than 10 attempted killings against him since then.

In May, Ukrainian security services arrested two Ukrainian colonels, accusing them of participating in a complicated plan to kill the president and a number of other top officials.

It is known that alleged schemes in Kyiv emerged as Russia had made progress slowly but surely on the battlefield in recent months, exploiting less Ukrainian troops and relying on the West for weapons, as well as uncertainty over the future of the military aid.