Thwarted: Ukraine Foils Government Coup as it Arrests ‘Provocateurs’ Who Planned to Seize Parliament Building

Intelligence officials in Ukraine apprehended a group of provocateurs whom they claim were planning to seize the country's government buildings.

Knewz.com has learned that an alleged insurrection planned for June 30, was intended to begin as a peaceful protest before escalating into a riot aimed at seizing the seat of power and halting its operations.

The SBU apprehended four suspects during their investigation. By: SBU

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) published these allegations on its website, saying:

“The group [of provocateurs] was headed by the co-founder of a public organization known for its anti-Ukrainian actions since 2015.”

“Under the guise of holding a so-called ‘party’, the attackers planned to announce the ‘removal from power’ of the current military and political leadership of Ukraine.”

“Then they hoped to seize the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and block its work.”

“In order to gather people,” the report elaborated, “the organizers had to arrange a supposedly peaceful meeting in the center of the capital.”

The attendees, however, are believed to have been oblivious to the agitators’ ulterior motives.

Weapons were found during the SBU search. By: SBU

The modus that the accused would have used to achieve their goals would have been disinformation about “disturbances” throughout the Ukrainian capital in the hope that it would unsettle the population and “shake up the social and political situation”—ultimately benefiting Russia.

A search by the intelligence agency produced “weapons and ammunition”, along with numerous mobile phones, “draft records”, “computer equipment” and other incriminating evidence.

The report also noted that one individual was taken into custody and along with his co-conspirators, may have his property confiscated and spend ten years in jail.

The last time the SBU clamped down on a group clandestinely fighting Ukraine from within the population, was in March 2024.

Ammunition was found during a search. By: SBU

The four suspects arrested at the time – including a cleric – were members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) which is said to have had links to Moscow since 2015.

The SBU released a statement at a time saying: “It is one of the largest FSB [Federal Security Service of Russia] networks that has been operating in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.”

“It had a clear hierarchy and distribution of functions, as well as constant communication with the largest mass media of the Russian Federation, which immediately picked up the ‘necessary’ content.”

One of the methods for distributing said content was through “dozens of controlled Telegram accounts.”

Once these materials hit social media, Russian television would pick on them and broadcast the fake allegations to its citizens.

SBU agents questioning one of the accused. By: SBU

Along with the arrest made by the Ukrainian security forces as a so-called preventative measure, ten more individuals were notified that they were being probed for their suspected roles in the plot.

“Perpetrators face life imprisonment,” the SBU report concluded.

These claims follow a statement by the Ukrainian Security Service chief, Vasyl Maliuk in February.

According to Rubryka, Maliuk claimed that during the year 2023, officials identified 47 Russian spy networks working inside Ukraine and made more than 2,000 arrests.