Ukraine accuses Russia of plotting coup
Ukrainian authorities announced on Monday that they had foiled a coup attempt, accusing Russia of planning it with the aim of "provoking public unrest" followed by "overthrowing the government," noting that it was a "recurring tactic" that had been used in other attempts in recent years.
It is unclear whether those accused have any connection to Russia, which has launched a large-scale attack on its southwestern neighbor for nearly two and a half years.
Planning to stir up riots
The service said in a statement that it had arrested four people on Sunday on charges of "planning to provoke riots," "seizing the parliament building" in the capital, and "replacing the country's military and civilian leadership," according to the New York Times.
The detainees face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The Ukrainian Security Service said it had seized weapons and ammunition, as well as mobile phones, computers and other records "with evidence of a criminal act."
Investigators indicated that between May and June, a group of people published posts on social media aimed at "discrediting the Ukrainian leadership" and "calling for the seizure of state power."
The American magazine "Newsweek" said that the leader of the coup attempt had a previous record of participating in provocative acts, explaining that he "rented a hall in the capital, Kiev, with a capacity of about 2,000 people, in an attempt to recruit them and form private militias to implement the plan," according to the Ukrainian authorities.
Details of the coup plan
The spokesman for the Ukrainian Security Service, Artem Dekhtyarenko, described the organizers of the event as "Russian agents," noting that they "were planning to hold a quiet meeting in the center of the capital."
Dekhtyarenko pointed out that the plan included "spreading information about the unrest in the capital, Kiev, through local and foreign information sources," once the invitees arrived at the hall, stressing that "the people who were encouraged by the organizers to attend the event were not aware of the real goals of the meeting."
"They hoped to undermine the social and political situation inside our country, which would benefit Russia," he added, explaining that "the defendants also planned to announce the dismissal of the current military and political leadership of Ukraine, seize the parliament building and disrupt its work."
The New York Times reported that the plan included storming and securing heavily guarded government buildings, which it described as "difficult," raising questions about the feasibility of the "conspiracy," but officials said that "it was intended to create an atmosphere of chaos that could undermine confidence in the government."
Ukrainian law enforcement authorities indicated that "weapons, ammunition, mobile phones and computers with evidence of criminal acts were found in the suspects' homes."
Recruitment of a number of citizens
The Security Service of Ukraine said: "To implement the criminal plan, the main organizer participated in recruiting several accomplices, representatives of community organizations from Kyiv, Dnipro and other regions."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian intelligence had information about a coup attempt in December, stressing that his country was preparing for war with Moscow.
However, the coup attempt is very similar to previous attempts uncovered by Ukrainian security services, even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022, according to the New York Times.
Last May, the Ukrainian security services announced the arrest of two officers accused of "participating in a plan to kill the president and a number of senior leaders."
Just a month before the start of the Russian war on Ukraine, the British government said that "Moscow was working on a plan to stage a coup in Ukraine in order to install a pro-Russian leader," and intelligence officials expressed concerns at the time about the possibility of Russia interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs openly.
