Assassination attempts on Volodymyr Zelenskyy

According to Ukraine government officials, president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has survived a number of assassination attempts by Russian agents.[1][2]

Background

In order to quickly end the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia planned to have groups enter Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and destroy Ukraine's leadership.[3] Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podoliyak stated that "Russia's key intention is to remove the country's top leadership, create maximum panic, and try to establish its own puppet government".[4]

Attempts

According to Ukrainian government, in early February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin instructed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to eliminate Ukrainian leaders.[5] In early March, Ukraine intelligence said that Chechen commandos sent to assassinate Zelensky had been "eliminated," with help from FSB agents sympathetic to Ukraine.[6]

More than 400 Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group were reported to have been in Kyiv by late February 2022, with orders to assassinate Zelenskyy and destabilize the government enough for Russia to take control.[7]

Number of attempts

During the conflict there were conflicting accounts of the number of assassination attempts made against Zelenskyy. Presidential advisor Podoliyak referenced the issue while speaking to the Ukrainian Pravda news outlet, saying, "Our foreign partners are talking about two or three attempts. I believe that there were more than a dozen attempts."[8]

Also, on Saturday, February 26, 2022, an assassination attempt by a group of Chechen mercenaries was prevented on the outskirts of Kyiv with the would be assassins liquidated.[9]

In early March 2022, the head of Ukraine's National Security Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said that Zelenskyy had survived three assassination attempts in one week. Danilov credited the aid of anti-war intelligence officers within Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) who shared information with Ukrainian forces about the planned attacks by two groups of assassins from Chechnya.[10]

Response

During an interview with CBS, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Ukrainian government had prepared for the potential death of Zelenskyy in the invasion, but would not disclose additional details.[11]

References
  1. Teh, Cheryl. "Volodymyr Zelenskyy has survived 'more than a dozen' assassination attempts by Russian agents, says presidential aide". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  2. Wagner group contractors were involved in Zelensky assassination plot, top Ukrainian official says, by CNN, David McKenzie and Ghazi Balkiz
  3. "Подоляк: єдина мета Росії – зайти до Києва та знищити керівництво України". Слово і Діло (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  4. "Подоляк: Одна з цілей Росії – прибрати вище керівництво України". Слово і Діло (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  5. "ЗСУ знищили кадирівців, що планували вбити Зеленського - розвідка". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  6. Ball, Tom (March 10, 2022). "Spies accused of betraying Putin's Chechen units". The Times. Retrieved March 13, 2022. Chechen fighters loyal to the Kremlin are being betrayed by Russian spies who are leaking their whereabouts to Ukrainian forces, an aide to President Zelensky has claimed. Aleksei Arestovich said that the FSB was 'quietly passing on' information about the movements of Chechen units.
  7. Rana, Manveen (February 28, 2022). "Volodymyr Zelensky: Russian mercenaries ordered to kill Ukraine's president". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  8. Brown, Lee (2022-03-09). "Zelensky has survived 'more than a dozen' assassination attempts, aide says". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  9. "ЗСУ знищили кадирівців, що планували вбити Зеленського - розвідка | Українська правда". web.archive.org. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  10. Kaonga, Gerrard (2022-03-04). "Volodymyr Zelensky survives three assassination attempts in one week". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  11. Ghosh, Poulomi (2022-03-07). "'If Zelensky is assassinated': US says Ukraine has alternative plans". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
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