The British newspaper The Times reported that at least three assassination attempts have been made on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the past week. He added that another one is likely to be taken by the end of this week.
According to the publication, two different groups were sent to assassinate the Ukrainian president – mercenaries from the pro-Kremlin Wagner group and Chechen special forces, and the attempts of both were stopped by opponents of the war in the ranks of the Russian FSB. Service (FSB), issued a warning to the Ukrainians.
Mercenaries from the Wagner group in Kyiv suffered losses during the assassination attempts and were reportedly concerned about how accurately the Ukrainians had predicted their movements, writes The Times.
A source close to the group said it was “terrible” how well informed Zelenskiy’s security service turned out to be. On Saturday, an assassination attempt on Zelensky was thwarted on the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukrainian intelligence said a group of Chechen terrorists were “liquidated” before they could reach the president.
Mercenaries have already planned another assassination attempt before the weekend
According to The Times, the Wagner mercenaries were unaware of the Chechen bombers, but after staying in Kyiv for six weeks and tracking the movements of 24 high-ranking Ukrainian targets, they carried out assassination attempts of their own. The group was ordered to wait for the arrival of Russian special forces, who were supposed to ensure their safe exit from Kyiv after the end of the shelling. It was believed that the attack on Kyiv would complete the mission, but due to the fact that a column of Russian tanks was stuck outside the city, the pace of the attack was lower than expected.
The mercenaries have come under intense pressure from Moscow to speed up operations in an attempt to claim apparent success, and are reportedly set to carry out 24 “killer list” kills within days. A source close to the Kiev mercenaries says that there are still about 400 people in Kyiv, despite the loss of part of the group as a result of unsuccessful operations this week.
“It’s enough for one of them to get lucky and they all go home with the prize,” says a source quoted by The Times. The mercenaries are believed to have already made plans for another attempt before the weekend.