Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Photo: Presidency of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty
Ukrainian authorities have reportedly confirmed that a plot to assassinate Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyhas been prevented.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the country’s National Security and Defense Council, announced on Tuesday that local forces successfully stopped the plan to kill Zelenskyy, according to aTelegram messagefrom Ukrainian officials.
Danilov said a group of elite Chechen special forces, known as Kadyrovites, were behind the assassination attempt and have since been “eliminated,” perAxios.
President Zelensky.BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty
He said the Kadyrovite unit was divided into two, with one being destroyed in Gostomel and the other “under fire.”
In a video statement released on Thursday, Zelenskyy said he had been the prime target of the Russian government since theybegan its invasion of his countrylast week,CNNreports.
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“We’re not going to get into security questions, but … we are working to provide him a range of support,” she said.
Last week, Zelenskyy said heturned down an offerfrom the United States to be evacuated from the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.
“The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” Zelenskyy said, according to atweetfrom the Ukrainian embassy in Britain early Saturday morning.
Zelenskyy himself later addressed rumors that he had departed Ukraine in avideoshared on his official Twitter account that same day.
“Do not believe the fakes,” he captioned the 40-second clip. In the video, Zelenskyy says, according to aCNNtranslation, “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,” he continues. “That is it. That’s all I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine.”
source: people.com
