Ukraine’s president survived 3 assassination attempts in last week: report

Russo-Ukraine War: The US offers to expel Zelensky from Ukraine but he refuses.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has survived three assassination attempts since the Russian offensive began last week, reports say. According to The Times, the plots were foiled after Ukrainian authorities were alerted about them.

Reports said that two different assassination groups were sent to kill the Ukrainian president – the Wagner group and the Chechen rebels.

According to The Washington Post, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) alerted Ukrainians about a unit of Kadyrovits – elite Chechen special forces – sent to kill Zelensky. It quoted the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, as saying that these units had been “destroyed”.

He said Chechen special forces were killed on Saturday on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. “And I can say that we have received information from the FSB, who do not want to participate in this bloody war today,” Danilov told The Post.

The Times reported that intelligence inputs came from anti-war elements within the FSB.

Meanwhile, the Wagner mercenaries were reportedly concerned about how accurately the Ukrainians had guessed their moves, the Times further reported.

It did not name the source of the information, but reported that a high-ranking official said it was “horrifying” how well the information was given to Zelensky’s security team.

At the start of the war in Ukraine, the US offered to evacuate Zelensky, but he declined. Instead he opted to stay in Kyiv with his security squad and closest allies in intimate quarters amid Russian bombardment.

His decision has been praised by many countries including France. President Emmanuel Macron called Zelensky “the face of honor, freedom and courage” in his address to the nation.

Zelensky has said he fears he is the number one target of a Russian offensive, but talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday are the only way to end.

“If anyone thinks … Ukraine will surrender, he knows nothing about Ukraine and has nothing to do with Ukraine,” Zelensky said in his latest video address in a candid message to Putin.