In early March, the organizer and key persons who were supposed to deal with this were detained in the Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytsky regions.
The Kremlin planned to create "people's republics" in the western regions of Ukraine, but the Secret Servie of Ukraine prevented this. This was reported by the press center of the SBU.
According to the report, one of the group members, which, on the instructions of the Russian Federation, planned the creation of "people's republics", agreed to cooperate with the investigation. He said that the group began work to overthrow the constitutional order in the summer of 2021.
"He was approached by a retired enemy intelligence officer who became the organizer of the 'scheme'. He announced his intention to create a new democracy in Ukraine, and if the current government 'does not resign on its own', then the group will switch to a forceful scenario. To seize power, the group must recruit 500 militants, preferably from former ATO servicemen, and provide them with weapons," the report says.
It is noted that the implementation of the plan was supposed to coincide with the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but thanks to the work of the SBU, the network was exposed, and its organizer and key persons were detained in early March in the Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytsky regions.
The security service added that one of the accomplices admitted his guilt and testified against the organizer. The materials on it were sent to the court.