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Why did Zelenskyy dismiss his guards chief?
Summary
A look back at 9 May 2024, when the head of Ukraine's state guards was removed after an alleged plot against the president.
Why did Ukraine's president dismiss the man responsible for protecting him? On 9 May 2024, Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Serhiy Rud, the head of the state guards, after allegations that two members of the guards were involved in an assassination plot against him.
The dismissal followed an announcement two days earlier. On 7 May 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine said it had detained two colonels from a government protection unit. According to the agency, they had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service and were planning to assassinate Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian officials.
From arrests to a dismissal
The sequence was short: the security service made its announcement on 7 May, and the president removed the head of the guards on 9 May. The allegations concerned members of the very body charged with protecting the president, which is why the removal drew attention.
A wider pattern
The episode fits a broader picture described later. According to Ukrainian government officials and news sources, Zelenskyy has survived dozens of assassination and kidnapping attempts by Russian or pro-Russian agents during the war, including at least three that Ukrainian security services foiled.
On 9 May 2024, the immediate outcome was a change of leadership at the state guards, following the arrests of the two colonels two days earlier.
