Zelensky also fired his head of security

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired the head of the department responsible for his personal security.

On 7 May, two of his staff were detained this week over an alleged plot to assassinate him, AFP reported.

Zelensky issued a decree "dismissing Serhiy Leonidovich Rudd from the post of head of the Department of State Protection of Ukraine."

It does not specify the reason for Rudd's removal, nor his replacement in the crucial post.

The announcement was made after Ukraine's Security Service SBU announced it had foiled a Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky and other senior officials.

The SBU has detained two colonels from the personal security department on suspicion of passing secret information to the rival Russian security service FSB.

One of them allegedly personally provided rocket-propelled grenades, drones and anti-personnel mines to an agent to carry out the attacks.

Rudd, 47, has headed the department - which oversees the personal security of the president, other senior officials and their families - since 2019.

Zelensky has been a target for Russia since it invaded the country in February 2022. Last year, he said he was aware of at least "five or six" foiled assassination plots against him. / BGNES