Ukraine claims to have thwarted ANOTHER bid to assassinate Zelensky as '25-strong hit squad led by Russia's secret service is rounded up nea Slovakia-Hungary border'
- The latest 'kill squad' stopped by Ukrainian cops was 'led by a Russian FSB agent'
- A 25-strong team of 'trained killers' was arrested in Uzhgorod, next to Slovakia
- They carried orders to sabotage Kyiv and kill President Zelensky, Unian reported
- It follows more than a dozen attempts to assassinate Zelensky so far during war
By ADAM SOLOMONS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 22:35 AEDT, 22 March 2022 | UPDATED: 22:52 AEDT, 22 March 2022
Russia's latest attempt to assassinate Ukrainian president Zelensky was foiled after a 25-man hit squad was reportedly arrested on the border with Slovakia.
A team of more than two dozen trained killers was rounded up by police in Uzhgorod, western Ukraine, while on their way to Kyiv last night, Bild reported.
Kyiv counter-intelligence sources told news agency Unian the men were accompanied by a Russian secret service agent.
Ukrainian president Zelensky has been targeted by an estimated dozen-plus assassination attempts since his country's invasion by Russia late last month
They reportedly carried orders to kill Zelensky and infiltrate other elements of the Ukrainian government.
Uzhgorod borders neighbouring Slovakia and lies just a few miles away from Ukraine's border with Hungary.
According to Unian, an anti-war faction within the Russian secret service itself tipped off Kyiv to the squad's whereabouts, dooming the team.
The arrests appear to be just the latest unsuccessful effort to kill Ukraine's leader, followed more than a dozen separate kill attempts since the Russian invasion began last month.
The FSB, alleged to have been behind the latest assassination effort, is Russia's secret service and successor to the KGB (Moscow HQ pictured)
Zelensky has become the face of his nation's dogged and defiant war effort against invading Moscow.
But he has also made himself a key target for his nation's invaders, with Wagner mercenaries entering the country yesterday to kill Zelensky, the Ministry of Defence reported.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and the presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak were listed as among the other alleged assassination targets.
The Kremlin has long denied ties to the bloodthirsty Wagner group, a 600-strong mercenary squad deployed worldwide in favour of Moscow's interests.
Chechen and Wagner mercenaries (pictured) have done Moscow's dirty work across the globe
Intelligence reports claimed the highly-trained fighters were waiting for the greenlight from the Kremlin to enter Ukraine.
Operatives were reportedly given a 24-person 'kill list', including Ukraine's prime minister, the entire cabinet, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir - both boxing champions who have become iconic figures on the front lines of the capital.
The attack was sabotaged after the plans reached the upper echelons of the Ukrainian government, prompting Kyiv to declare a 36-hour 'hard' curfew on March 5.
According to Kyiv, this entailed keeping everyone indoors while authorities 'swept the streets' for Russian saboteurs.
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Ukraine arrests yet another 'Zelensky hit squad of 25 men sent by Putin' close to Slovakian border