WAR IN UKRAINE

Volodymyr Zelensky: Russian mercenaries ordered to kill Ukraine’s president

President Zelensky agreed to send a delegation to meet a Russian team at the Belarus border
President Zelensky agreed to send a delegation to meet a Russian team at the Belarus border
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/EPA

More than 400 Russian mercenaries are operating in Kyiv with orders from the Kremlin to assassinate President Zelensky and his government and prepare the ground for Moscow to take control, The Times has learnt.

The Wagner Group, a private militia run by one of President Putin’s closest allies and operating as an arm-length branch of the state, flew in mercenaries from Africa five weeks ago on a mission to decapitate Zelensky’s government in return for a handsome financial bonus.

Information about their mission reached the Ukrainian government on Saturday morning and hours later Kyiv declared a 36-hour “hard” curfew to sweep the city for Russian saboteurs, warning civilians that they would be seen as Kremlin agents and risked being “liquidated” if they stepped outside.

A suspected Russian agent is kept under armed guard while being escorted blindfolded through Kyiv
A suspected Russian agent is kept under armed guard while being escorted blindfolded through Kyiv
EFREM LUKATSKY/AP

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