Zelensky sacks bodyguard chief after foiled assassination plot

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the State Guard Service (UDO) Serhii Rud on Thursday after two officers from the guards were detained in connection with an alleged assassination plot against Zelensky.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the the agency responsible for his protection after two of its officers were detained over an alleged assassination plot against him. The sacking of State Guard Service (UDO) chief Serhii Rud was revealed in a decree published on the presidential website. No reason for the dismissal was given. According to Ukrainian state media Ukrinform, Rud was appointed to be Zelensky’s top bodyguard in October 2019. A replacement is yet to be named. The UDO is tasked with ensuring the security of Ukraine’s president and senior state officials, as well as the protection of administrative buildings. Earlier this week it emerged that Ukraine had detained two security officials allegedly involved in a Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky. Two colonels in the UDO were accused of carrying out “subversive activities against Ukraine in exchange for financial compensation,” Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office said Tuesday.