Specially trained Russian mercenaries sent to kill Ukraine President Zelensky, report claims

A specially trained force of ruthless Kremlin-backed mercenaries has been sent into Ukraine to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top aides, a new report says.

More than 400 Russian operatives from the shadowy so-called Wagner Group — a private militia assembled by an ally of President Vladimir Putin — are in Kyiv preparing to kill the Ukrainian leader and his right-hand people so Moscow can take control of the country, the Times of London reported Monday.

The mercenary soldiers were flown to Ukraine from Africa five weeks ago and offered “a handsome financial bonus” if they succeed in their mission, the outlet said.

The Ukrainian government was informed Saturday morning of the enemy operation — information that prompted officials in Kyiv to enact a 36-hour curfew to search the city for Russian operatives, the Times reported.

Along with Zelensky, the group’s targets reportedly include 23 other figures such as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, a former boxing champion.

A total of between 2,000 and 4,000 mercenaries from the group arrived in Ukraine in January, the paper said, citing “a source closely connected to the group’s activities.” Some of them were then sent to the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, while 400 entered from Belarus and traveled to Kyiv, according to the Times’ source.

A source “close to senior members of the Wagner Group” told the Times that the mercenaries were recently informed that Putin wanted a brief pause in their plot — as a way to present himself as though he is earnestly negotiating with Zelensky. But no peace deal will come from the talks because the meetings will be all “smoke and mirrors,” the source said.

Ukraine agreed Sunday to meet Russian officials for peace talks, Zelensky announced, while quickly also admitting he expected any discussions to prove futile.

On Monday, the first round of the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended with no clear resolution, after the Ukrainian president’s office called for an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Ukraine is not the shadowy Wagner Group’s first involvement in conflicts.

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In 2017, its operatives were reportedly behind the savage mutilation and beheading of a Syrian army deserter.

In addition, the crews have been involved in civil wars in Mozambique, Libya and Sudan, among other global hotspots, according to reports. In 2018, US-led coalition forces in Syria injured or killed 300 Wagner-linked operatives, according to reports at the time.

“They are very effective because they are hard to pin down,” Gen. Sir Richard Barrons, a British former commander of Joint Forces Command, told the Times of the Wagner mercenaries in Monday’s report.

“They can appear from the shadows, do very violent things and then disappear again, without it being obvious who was responsible,” he said. “They are not directly linked to the Russian government, and therefore [Kremlin officials] are plausibly deniable.”

The report came as Russia’s siege of Ukraine continued in its fifth day.