VOLODYMYR Zelensky has told for the first time how he almost got killed in an assassination attempt orchestrated by the Kremlin inside his secured presidential fortress.
The brave leader revealed that people died inside his office in Kyiv when Vladimir Putin sent hitmen to wipe him out and take over Ukraine.
AlamyZelensky inside the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office[/caption]
Dan CharityPresident Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks exclusively to The Sun’s Defence Editor Jerome Starkey[/caption]
Russian President Vladimir Putin has allegedly sent multiple hitmen to kill ZelenskyEPA
The president is known to have survived at least five to six assassination attempts during the course of the Russia-Ukraine war.
At least three of them were reported by March 2022 as Russian forces were pushing toward Ukraine’s capital before being defeated in the battle of Kyiv.
In an interview with the Guardian, Zelensky said he was attacked by the Russians amid efforts to force Ukraine to accept a peace deal in the wake of the full-scale invasion.
The president added: “There were people who wanted to kill [me]. There were gunshots and more.
“Some people were killed here, inside the Presidential Office, others were defending us.”
Zelensky did not reveal the number of people killed during the act, nor did he specify if they were Russians, Ukrainians, or both.
Speaking to The Sun at his fortress Kyiv headquarters, Zelensky admitted he had lost track of all the attempts to kill him since Russia unleashed a full-scale invasion.
On the attempts to topple him, Zelensky said the first plot caused a panic — like the first outbreak of Covid. But after that, they were not so bad.
The President said: “The first one is very interesting, when it is the first time, and after that, it is just like Covid.
“First of all people don’t know what to do with it and it’s looking very scary.
“And then after that, it is just intelligence sharing with you detail that one more group came to Ukraine to [attempt] this.”
Russian special forces parachuted into Kyiv to kill Zelensky on the first day of Putin’s invasion.
His bodyguards sealed off his office with makeshift barricades and bits of plywood.
His closest aides were issued with rifles and body armour. One said the office was like a “madhouse”.
But when British and US officials offered to spirit the President out of the capital amid fears it could fall within hours, he replied with the legendary line: “I need ammo, not a ride.”
Previous assassination attempts on Zelensky
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has survived, and been subject to, a number of assassination attempts.
The first of those came just weeks after Russia broke through the border, following reports that Vladimir Putin allegedly instructed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to eliminate Ukrainian leaders.
In early March, Chechen commandos who were sent to assassinate Zelensky were quickly “eliminated” by Ukraine intelligence.
That same month, Russian Private Military Company (PMC) Redut was ordered to infiltrate and eliminate the political leadership and the Ukrainian Secret Service by storming institutions in the Kyiv region.
More than one thousand fighters turned up, yet up to 90% of them were killed as the mission quickly failed.
In August 2023, it was reported that another alleged assassination attempt had been stopped.
Ukraine’s security service arrested a woman suspected of gathering information on Zelenskyy’s trip to the Mykolaiv region.
Despite conflicting reports on the number of assassination attempts on Zelensky, Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Ukrainian Pravda news outlet “there were more than a dozen attempts”.
In April 2024, Poland arrested a man on suspicion he was working with Russia to plot the assassination of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Suspect Paweł K was accused of helping the Kremlin’s security services to plan the attack that was foiled by Poland with help from Ukraine.
A joint investigation, led by Polish and Ukrainian law enforcement, found he “established contacts with the Russian Federation directly involved in the war in Ukraine”.
In May 2024, Ukraine said it thwarted a Russian assassination plot to “kidnap and kill” President Zelensky after Putin’s spooks allegedly tried to infiltrate his bodyguards.
The SBU exposed a network of agents who it claims were preparing to “eliminate” the Ukrainian leader as well as other senior political and military figures.
It comes as a top Ukrainian intelligence chief has been found allegedly working as an undercover agent for Russia.
Colonel Dmytro Koziura was dramatically detained in an operation said to be Zelensky at every step.
The alleged FSB agent was shown handcuffed behind his back with cuts and bruises on his head.
There were 14 proven cases of Koziura passing classified information to the enemy, the Ukrainian intelligence said.
It later emerged that the FSB wanted the alleged spy to provide intelligence on Ukrainian knowledge of Russian military movements on the frontline.
Moscow also reportedly tasked him with obtaining secret information on Ukrainian security and defence Forces, the state of critical infrastructure facilities, and the results of enemy missile attacks on targets in Ukraine.
APUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures as he speaks during an interview[/caption]
East2WestUkraine’s security service detained two ‘Russian spy colonels’ accused of plotting an attack on President Zelensky[/caption]
Ukraine’s security service says longtime counterterrorism chief, Colonel Dmytro Koziura was an FSB agent, arrested after a prolonged sting operationEast2West Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
