Ukraine's President Zelenskyy dismisses security head amid assassination plot

Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed General Serhii Rudyi, the head of the State Security Administration. The officers subordinate to him were arrested in connection with the assassination attempt on the President of Ukraine.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy removed General Serhii Rudyi, the head of the State Security Administration since 2019, from his position. The office of the Ukrainian head of state does not provide the reason for Zelenskyy's decision. Rudyi was also not transferred to another position. The reason for the dismissal may be the foiled attempted assassination prepared by services in Moscow and thwarted by Ukrainian services against the president.

Serhii Rudyi began his career in the State Security Administration (SSA) in the early 2000s when Leonid Kuchma was Ukraine's president. During this period, Rudyi was responsible for training state security service officers. During Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Rudyi held key managerial roles in an institute managed by the SSA, which was responsible for preparing future officers.

His career gained momentum when Volodymyr Zelenskyy became President of Ukraine in 2019. Rudyi was then promoted to deputy head of SSA, and a few months later, he took over as the head of the service. After the outbreak of full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, Rudyi became one of the most influential people in the country. He was included in a select group of individuals who participated in meetings with the president to discuss the current situation on the war front.

According to the findings of the SBU, the weaponry provided for carrying out lethal attacks, including FPV drones, RPG-7 rounds, and MON-90 anti-infantry mines. This assassin's arsenal was uncovered in Kyiv, the intended location for the assassination.

The network was unmasked, notably with significant contributions from the intended victim, Vasyl Maluk, the head of the SBU, who oversaw the investigation.

As reported by the Ukrainian TV station TSN, the SBU had long been monitoring the participants in the conspiracy. Activities such as transporting weapons and phone conversations between the potential terrorist attacker and his handler from the FSB were recorded. According to the SBU, the organization of the terrorist attack was supervised by employees of the IX Department of Operational Information V Service – Maxim Mishustin, Dmytro Perlin, and Alexey Kornev, who now face life in prison.