Ukraine detains citizens over alleged attempt to topple government in Kyiv

Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU, on Monday claimed credit for arresting several individuals involved in an attempted coup. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office said at least four individuals were involved, and that it had taken two of the individuals into custody. The SBU disrupted the individuals’ plans at an early stage and prevented the plan from coming to fruition, it said. They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Did authorities provide any details on how this coup would work? The individuals planned to disguise their event as a peaceful rally in the center of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and seize control of government buildings there, authorities said. The leaders of the alleged coup planned to spread the news about their takeover through foreign and domestic media outlets, the SBU said. Ukrainian authorities said the coup would have played into Russia’s hands.

Has Russia said anything about this? The Russian state media outlet TASS reported on the SBU’s statement. It did not provide a response from the Kremlin. RT, another Kremlin-run media outlet, did the same.

Dig deeper: Listen to Jessica Eturralde’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about a young man fighting for a new life in the United States after fleeing the war in Ukraine.