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Ukrainian intelligence anticipates coup attempt this spring

The operation will allegedly be carried out in order to "pit everyone against everyone, representatives of political leadership included," to sow panic, to "drive a wedge between the military and civilians"

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. The Ukrainian Presidential Committee on Intelligence expects that an attempt to overthrow the Zelensky government could be made this spring.

"The ‘Maidan-3’ special operation will reach its culmination between March and May, 2024," the committee said in a statement, published on the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR).

According to the committee, in the coming weeks, "attempts to ignite conflicts, both inside Ukraine and in other locations" will take place, and Zelensky’s legitimacy might be challenged after May 20. The committee believes that an attempt will be made to destabilize the situation in Ukraine by early June, at the same time when Ukraine will suffer a military defeat in the East.

The operation will allegedly be carried out in order to "pit everyone against everyone, representatives of political leadership included," to sow panic, to "drive a wedge between the military and civilians," and to disrupt the mobilization. In this regard, the committee urged citizens and Western partners to reinforce "comprehensive security measures."

The legitimacy of the authorities is a hot button issue in Ukraine, where parliamentary and presidential elections are prohibited during martial law. Previously, former Ukrainian envoy to the UK Vadim Pristayko admitted that Kiev’s Western partners are concerned about the impending end of Zelensky’s presidential term. Meanwhile, leaders of opposition parties, the European Solidarity, and the Batkivshchyna, Pyotr Poroshenko and Yulia Timoshenko, proposed establishing a coalition government in order to prevent a crisis of legitimacy. Opposition lawmaker Alexander Dubinsky claimed that Zelensky’s mandate expired on May 20. Meanwhile, former speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Dmitry Razumkov noted that, under the Ukrainian Constitution, presidential duties must be handed over to the Verkhovna Rada Speaker in May.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian media reported, citing sources in the administration that the presidential office has prepared an address to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding the legitimacy of Zelensky staying in office past May 20.

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