Did Putin's Own Spy Agency Ruin Zelensky Assassination Plot?

By Susie Madrak — March 2, 2022

Axios reports that Ukrainian forces had foiled an assassination plot against President Zelensky, according to a Telegram post from Ukrainian authorities.

Zelensky has said since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that he would be a prime target for assassination. Last Thursday, he warned that Russian "sabotage groups" had entered Kyiv and were hunting for him and his family.

According to the Telegram message, Danilov said that a unit of elite Chechen special forces, known as Kadyrovites, had been behind the plot and had subsequently been "eliminated."

"We are well aware of the special operation that was to take place directly by the Kadyrovites to eliminate our president," Danilov said, per the post.

Ukrainian authorities were tipped off about the plot by members of Russia's Federal Security Service who do not support the war, Danilov said.

Well, that's pretty interesting. The FSB is the successor to the old KGB, which (if true) means Putin's own guys are undercutting him on a major move. Doesn't bode well for him!

I don’t know whether the alleged Zelensky assassination plot was, in fact, foiled by FSB snitches, as the Ukrainians say. But saying the tip came from with the FSB itself is maximally designed to send the FSB into a counterintelligence ouroboros.https://t.co/t4TK9OoSrs

— Zach Dorfman (@zachsdorfman) March 1, 2022

An assassination attempt on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, prepared by an "elite group of Kadyrovtsi (Kadyrov's thugs)," has been prevented in Kyiv Oblast, @NSDC_ua secretary Oleksiy Danilov said. They were terminated.

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 1, 2022

I'm seeing a lot of folks calling for extrajudicial assassination of another country's leader.

1) this is prohibited by EO, the Hague Conv & the UN Charter unless the nation involved is under direct threat

2) for fucks sake, consider how that would change the playing field here

— Elizabeth C. McLaughlin (she/her) (@ECMcLaughlin) March 1, 2022

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