Ukrainian security officials announced on Monday that they had thwarted a plot to overthrow the government, coinciding with Russia’s intensified attacks on the capital city.
Four Ukrainian civilians were apprehended over the weekend on suspicion of orchestrating a coup attempt by seizing Parliament and declaring their intention to assume power, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) after an investigation that commenced in May.
Ukrainian officials have provided limited details regarding the plot but revealed that the “activists” were operating under the guise of organizing a peaceful rally in Kyiv on Sunday.
Despite messages promoting dissent exchanged on social media, the majority of participants in the event were purportedly unaware of the group’s objective to “coerce” the public into “electing a provisional government,” as asserted by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office in a Telegram post.
It remains unclear whether the group had any connections with Russian officials, though the SBU noted that the scheme “would have served Russia’s interests.”
U.S. and European intelligence officials earlier this year accused Moscow of escalating its covert operations against Kyiv and Ukrainian leadership in an effort to undermine support for Ukraine, reports indicated.
Russia has recently achieved battlefield gains in Ukraine, and security officials stated on Sunday that Moscow is adopting a new approach when targeting Kyiv.
“The aggressor is experimenting with new tactics – they are searching for the optimal timing, methods, and means,” the Kyiv City Military Administration declared in a Telegram post.
The administration highlighted the absence of ballistic and cruise missiles in the most recent attack on the city on Sunday, but reminded citizens to heed air raid sirens, which have become a regular occurrence in the city for over two years.
“No air raid alarm should be disregarded,” the administration stated in its post. “Rockets are intercepted, but the particles do not dissipate, and the debris poses a danger to human life.”