Home › Security › What did Zelenskyy's guard chief dismissal signal?
What did Zelenskyy's guard chief dismissal signal?
Summary
A look back at the removal of the head of Ukraine's state guards after allegations of a plot against the president.
What happened to Ukraine's presidential protection after allegations of a plot surfaced? On 11 May 2024, two days after the dismissal, the question was still open: on 9 May 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had fired Serhiy Rud, the head of the state guards, following allegations that two members of the guards were involved in an assassination plot against him.
A threat from inside the perimeter
The allegations concerned two members of the very service responsible for protecting the president. That made the dismissal of the service's head a notable step, taken as the allegations emerged.
The wider context
As reported later, Ukrainian government officials and news sources have said Zelenskyy has survived dozens of assassination and kidnapping attempts by Russian or pro-Russian agents during the war, including at least three foiled by Ukrainian security services. That later account places the May 2024 case within a longer pattern of attempts on his life.
The dismissal itself was the decisive public step of 9 May 2024: leadership of the guards changed once the allegations of involvement by two of its members came to light.
