Zelensky’s order did not provide reasons for personnel changes in the most sensitive position. The Ukrainian domestic secret service SBU said on Tuesday it had dismantled a “network of agents” controlled by the Russian secret service FSB “preparing for the assassination of the Ukrainian president”.
According to the Secret Service, the group’s plans were aimed at recruiting soldiers from Zelensky’s security service circle in order to “take him hostage and kill him.” Two officers from Zelensky’s bodyguard were arrested on charges of passing classified information to Russia.
Kiev: Several attacks have already been foiled
Rudd, 47, has since 2019 headed the department responsible for the personal security of Ukraine’s president and other top government members and their families.
Russia has had Zelenskyj in its sights since the offensive in Ukraine began. According to Kiev, several assassination attempts have already been made against the president and other Ukrainian government representatives.
Germany pays for rocket artillery system
Meanwhile, Germany will pay for the delivery of three rocket artillery systems from the United States to Ukraine. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made the decision public after talks with his counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington on Thursday. “They come from the stocks of the US armed forces and are paid by us,” he said.
Computers can cost more than double-digit millions. HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a multiple rocket launcher artillery system mounted on a truck chassis.
Zelensky wants to regain the initiative
According to Zelensky, with the arrival of Western weapons, Ukraine wants to regain the initiative. It’s no secret that Russian armed forces are currently on the offensive in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian head of state told a press conference with EU Parliament President Roberta Metzola in Kiev on Thursday.
“As soon as arms exports arrive, we will stop their efforts,” Zelensky promised. But to take the initiative, his army needed “something powerful.” An outdoor press conference scheduled to be held in front of the President’s office was canceled shortly after due to an air raid alert.
According to Zelensky, the Russian military is currently preparing a major offensive. For this purpose, forces will be collected to the north and east of the front. However, not everything went as well as the Russians had hoped. “Not that I’m trying to lift your spirits. That is the reality,” Zelensky assured.
Putin condemns Western “hypocrisy”.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his country’s readiness to fight on a day commemorating its victory over Germany in World War II. He sent a warning to the West: Russia’s nuclear forces will be “always on alert,” Putin said at a major military parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Putin accused the West of “hypocrisy” and “innovation” for trying to destroy the memory of the Soviet victory.
The refinery was allegedly attacked by Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukraine reported an attack on a Russian oil refinery nearly 1,200 kilometers from the border. Ukrainian security sources said on Thursday that the attack on a refinery in the Republic of Bashkortostan had reached “achievement threshold”. The drone flew a total of 1,500 kilometers. The target is the Gazprom refinery in Salavat city.
The SBU, the Ukrainian secret service, carried out the attack. Two oil storage facilities in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia were also attacked. Russian emergency services have reported damage to a water station at the Salavat refinery in Bashkortostan. “There was no fire, no casualty,” the local emergency management ministry said. Smoke billowed above the refinery after the drone strike, but it continued to operate, local officials said.