
Ukraine’s president has admitted he is ‘target number one’ for Russian assassins in his capital, as it was claimed Chechen spec op ‘hunters’ have been given a list of Ukrainian officials to capture or kill.
Volodymyr Zelensky, 44, addressed the nation on Thursday night, at the end of the first day of the Russian invasion of his country.
The former TV comedian insisted he had remained in Kyiv as he urged his fellow citizens to stay strong.
He said he was speaking from Kyiv but the elegance of the presidential palace was long gone: Zelensky, in his olive green t-shirt, appeared to be speaking from a bunker.
‘I know that a lot of misinformation and rumors are being spread now,’ he said.
‘In particular, it is claimed that I have left Kyiv. I remain in the capital, I am staying with my people,’ he said.
Zelensky said his family also remained in the country – his wife Oleana, a 44-year-old architect and screenwriter, and their two children: daughter Aleksandra, 17, and son Kiril, nine.
‘My family is not a traitor, but a citizen of Ukraine,’ he said, adding that he would not reveal their location.
‘According to our information, the enemy marked me as the number one target. My family is the number two goal.
‘They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the Head of State.’
It was claimed a squad of Chechen special forces ‘hunters’ has been unleashed in Ukraine to detain or kill a specific Ukrainian officials.