An attempt to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky at the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 resulted in people being killed inside the Presidential Office, Zelensky said in a segment of an interview with The Guardian published on Feb. 12.
"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 revealed.
The president did not specify whether the fatalities included Russians, Ukrainians, or both. Zelensky said the assassination attempts took place amid Russia's efforts to pressure the Ukrainian leadership into accepting painful peace conditions.
The comments shed further light on previously reported attempts by Russia to eliminate the Ukrainian leadership in Kyiv in early 2022.
At least three assassination attempts at Zelensky were reported by March 2022 as Russian forces were pushing toward Ukraine's capital before being defeated in the battle of Kyiv.
These attacks included a team of elite Chechen soldiers who were eliminated after Ukraine was tipped off by members of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Ukrainian officials claimed at the time.
These were not the last reported attempts at Zelensky's life throughout the full-scale war. In May 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced thwarting an FSB plot to kill the president. Two colonels of Ukraine's State Security Administration (UDO) were accused of leaking classified information to Russia to assist with the plot.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
