Zelensky assassination plot averted, Ukraine says

by · Washington Examiner

An assassination plot against President Volodymyr Zelensky has been thwarted, according to Ukrainian officials.

Oleksiy Danilov, the Ukrainian secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said they were "well aware of the special operation" led by a unit of elite Chechen special forces called the "Kadyrovites" to kill Zelensky, according to a Telegram message posted Tuesday local time.

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"I can say that we have received information from [Russia's Federal Security Service], who today do not want to take part in this bloody war. And thanks to this, I can say, Kadyrov's elite group was destroyed directly," Danilov said, referencing Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic.

Danilov added that the group had been split in two, with one destroyed in Gostomel and the other "under fire."

The news comes a day after a report from the Times of London that said more than 400 Russian operatives were deployed to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, with orders to assassinate Zelensky.

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The assassins were said to be part of a militia called the Wagner Group, flown into Ukraine from Africa weeks ago ahead of Russia's invasion last Thursday.

Zelenksy, who has become an international star for his defiant stand against Russia, previously said Ukrainian "information" showed "the enemy marked me as target No. 1 — my family as target No. 2. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state. We have information that enemy sabotage groups have entered Kyiv."

Despite the threat, Zelensky said he refuses to evacuate, as some have urged.

“The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride,” he said.