Even as Russian forces began an open military assault on Ukraine on February 24, there were behind-the-scenes attempts to kill Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This was the claim made in reports in the Washington Post and The Times as the war in Europe continued for the ninth day.
Two different assassination groups were sent to take out Zelenskyy, as per the reports. These were members of the Wagner Group, and the Kadyrovites. The Wagner Group is reportedly a private Russian mercenary group deployed by the Kremlin in special combat operations. The Kadyrovites are elite Chechen special forces.
Interestingly, information about the assassination plans were shared by a Russian agency with Ukrainian authorities, according to a Ukraine official quoted by the Washington Post. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, reportedly said that personnel of Russia's FSB agency, who are opposed to Vladimir Putin's war, passed on the information.
Ukraine officials claimed to have "destroyed" the Chechen special forces team on February 26. The Wagner group team sent to kill Zelenskyy was also caught off-guard, as per reports.
After the war began, the Ukrainian President had said that he is Russia's Target Number 1, while his family is Target Number 2.