An assassination attempt against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by Chechens has been foiled, a top Ukrainian official said.
An “elite group” of Chechens had arrived in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, to assassinate Zelensky, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said during a briefing, according to a Telegram post by Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications, a government office.
The Kadyrovites—made up of elite Chechen special forces—were allegedly sent to assassinate the Ukrainian president, and the group was split into two, said Danilov. One half was destroyed in Hostomel, a town Northwest of Kyiv, and the other unit was “under fire” from Ukrainian forces.
“We are well aware of the special operation that was to take place directly by the Kadyrovites to eliminate our president,” Danilov said.
The senior Ukrainian official said authorities were tipped off about the plot by members of Russia’s Federal Security Service who do not support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Danilov described as a “bloody war.”
The news came six days after Putin authorized a “special military operation” against Ukraine.
Zelensky said during a televised address on Feb. 24 that Russia has marked him as its top enemy.
“The enemy marked me as target number one, and my family as target number two,” Zelensky said. A day earlier, the United States told the United Nations’ human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, that Russia had a hit list of “identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps.”
Zelensky on Saturday turned down an evacuation offer from the United States, according to the Ukraine embassy in Britain.
“The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” Zelensky told the United States, the embassy said.
“I am here. We are not putting down arms. We will be defending our country, because our weapon is truth, and our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children, and we will defend all of this,” the Ukrainian president said in a video Saturday morning.
“That is it. That’s all I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine,” he added.
Rights groups have alleged violations of international war crimes law, including the targeting of civilians, as well as indiscriminate attacks on schools and hospitals, since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The United Nations said civilian deaths have surpassed 100, and the death toll is likely to be considerably higher as many reported casualties have yet to be confirmed.
The Kremlin on Tuesday responded to accusations of war crimes saying that it “categorically denies” the claims.
From The Epoch Times