Ukraine ‘says it has killed a team of Chechen assassins who were plotting to MURDER President Zelensky’
- Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council said during a televised address today that the unit was 'eliminated'
- Earlier, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said some of his forces had been killed
- Last week it was reported a group of Chechen 'hunters' had been unleashed
- President Zelensky said that he was the 'number one target' of Russia's Putin
By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP
PUBLISHED: 05:43 AEDT, 2 March 2022 | UPDATED: 05:59 AEDT, 2 March 2022
Ukraine has claimed it destroyed an elite group of Chechen fighters today that were plotting to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, said during a televised address today that the unit 'which came to kill our President, was eliminated'.
Earlier today, Ramzan Kadyrov - the strongman leader of Chechnya - said that Chechens have been killed in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The unit was sent into Ukraine by Kadyrov, who is a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine has claimed it has destroyed an elite group of Chechen fighters that were plotting to assassinate Ukrainian President Zelensky, according to a Kyiv official. Pictured: Servicemen take part in a review of the Chechen Republic's troops and military hardware at the residence of Ramzan Kadyrov, February 25.
Since the Russian invasion began on February 24, there have been fears that president Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured: could be killed by Russian forces. In an address, he even said that he was target number-one for the Kremlin's assassins.
'We are already aware of the special operation that was to be carried out by Kadyrov forces unit,' Danilov said on Ukraine 24 TV channel, The Mirror reported.
'We received the information from representatives of Russia's Federal Security Service who do not want to take part in this bloody war.
'The Kadyrov forces unit, which came to kill our President, was eliminated.'
Danilov said the unit had been split into two groups and its movements were being closely tracked.
He said that one of the two groups came under fire from Ukraine's forces in Hostomel - a north-west suburb of Ukraine's Kyiv capital. The other unit was 'in our sights', he said.
'They were divided in two groups, we were tracking them,' Danilov said on television. 'One group was handled near Hostomel, the other one is in our sights.'
Danilov continued: 'We will not give our President or our country to anyone. This is our land, get out of here.'
Oleksiy Danilov (left), Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council said during a televised address today that the unit 'which came to kill our President, was eliminated'. The unit was sent into Ukraine by Ramzan Kadyrov - the strongman leader of Chechnya, who is staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Since the Russian invasion began on February 24, there have been fears that president Zelensky could be killed by Russian forces. In an address, he even said that he was target number-one for the Kremlin's assassins.
'I am target number one, my wife and children are number two,' he said last week.
However, despite the threat to his life, he has continued to project defiance in the face of danger and become the face of Ukraine's resistance.
The 44-year-old has used his eye for modern image management and the skills honed on stage to deliver stirring messages on social media.
On February 25, the day after the outbreak of war, he filmed himself standing in the dark near the presidency building with his advisors, saying 'we are all here' in an attempt to counter disinformation that he had abandoned his post.
'Our military is here. Citizens in society are here. We're all here defending our independence, our country, and it will stay this way,' he said.
Smoke rises around Kyiv's main television tower after several explosions near the base of it on Tuesday afternoon
Kadyrov meanwhile, a former rebel-turned-Kremlin-ally, has given his backing for President Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine, sending his notorious fighters to the country. Earlier, he confirmed some of his fighters had been killed.
'Unfortunately, there are already losses among the natives of the Chechen Republic. Two died, six more were injured to varying degrees,' Kadyrov said on Telegram.
Kadyrov, in charge of Russia's Chechnya Republic which he governs de-facto by his own set of rules, has posted videos of Chechen fighters in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, he posted one of a Chechen fighter with Russian tanks rolling by.
Russia has not said how many of its forces have been killed in the invasion, but also admitted losses last week.
Kadyrov said the killed Chechen fighters 'chose to become heroes.'
'Yes, they kill in war and that was their choice of profession,' he said.
He claimed that 'they had an order to minimise losses among the civilian population of Ukraine.'
Russia denies targeting civilian areas, but residential areas are being shelled.
Ukraine says more than 350 civilians have been killed since Putin launched the attack last Thursday.
Moscow has invaded from several directions, including from Belarus, Moscow-annexed Crimea and from territory controlled by east Ukraine's separatists.
It was reported on February 25 that a squad of Chechen special forces 'hunters' had been unleashed in Ukraine to detain or kill a set of specific Ukrainian officials.
Chechen soldiers of the south battalion of the Federal Guard Service are reportedly in a Ukrainian forest with orders to detain or kill Ukrainian officials
Each soldier was reportedly given a special 'deck of cards' with Ukrainian officials' photos and descriptions on them, a Moscow Telegram channel with links to the security establishment reported.
The list is of officials and security officers suspected of 'crimes' by the Russian Investigative Committee, the report added.
The Chechen squad was allegedly given an 'order to kill' if those on the wanted list could not be detained.