Russian President Vladimir Putin keeps underestimating Ukraine and overestimating his own troops. There was a recent assassination plot against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was foiled and the Chechen servicemen that were set up by Russia to do it were killed. This is according to a Ukrainian security leader.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, revealed on a Ukrainian TV marathon broadcast that officials were given information about a unit of Kadyrovites. These were elite Chechen Special Forces that were being dispatched to kill the Ukrainian president. The information was given to the Ukrainian officials by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The assassination unit was destroyed on the outskirts of Kyiv, according to Danilov.
“We are well aware of the special operation that was to take place directly by the Kadyrovites to eliminate our president. And I can say that we have received information from the FSB, who today do not want to take part in this bloody war. And thanks to this, the ‘Kadyrov’ elite group was destroyed, which came here to eliminate our president,” Danilov said.
Ramzan Kadyrov, a Chechen leader, did confirm that two of his servicemen died and six more were injured, the Chechens and the Kremlin have not publicly responded to the claims that Kadyrovites were sent to assassinate President Zelensky.
This good news for Ukraine comes at the same time that Russia is continuing its massive assault on several key cities in Ukraine. Some local officials have warned that their cities are on the verge of a breaking point.
The city of Kyiv experienced overnight attacks even though the Russian forces are dealing with stubborn resistance from the Ukrainian military along with civilian defenders.
Almost 680,000 people have fled the nation of Ukraine according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. This could very quickly become Europe’s largest refugee crisis in the last 100 years.
President Joe Biden started his State of the Union address with the Russian invasion. He highlighted a unified response from America and the world that has made Russia “now isolated from the world more than ever.” Biden spoke with Zelensky just hours before the speech about the sanctions being imposed on Russia. They also spoke about the United States giving defense assistance to Ukraine during the invasion.
The President challenged Putin for “badly” miscalculating how Ukraine and the world would respond to his aggression.
“He thought he could roll into Ukraine — and the world would roll over. Instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined. He met the Ukrainian people,” Biden declared.
Zelensky continues to post videos from where he is bunkered down in Kyiv while leading the country’s military response. He is joined there by government officials and leaders of his military. He said that he has become Russia’s “target No. 1,” and his family is their “target No. 2.” He believes that Putin believes he can destroy Ukraine politically by destroying its head of state.
The Ukrainian president is pleading with NATO forces to see Ukraine as “iconic” and deserving of being defended against Russia. He said that his nation is the “heart” of Europe and hopes that the West sees it as something “special” for the world.
Oleksiy Danilov said that he was very grateful to the members of Russia’s Federal Security Service for giving Ukrainian officials information about the assassination plot against Zelensky. And he said that his military had defeated the entire special unit of the Chechen National Guard. Those who were killed included Gen. Magomed Tushaev, commander of the 141st motorized regiment of the Chechen National Guard. This is according to the report in Ukrayinska Pravda.
The great fear now is what Putin will do in the midst of perceived failures. Zelensky and the Ukrainian people are bracing for more inhumane actions of Russian aggression.
