KYIV, UKRAINE — As fighting continues as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an elite unit of Chechen soldiers sent to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been eliminated, according to Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, cited by Ukrainian news outlet The New Voice of Ukraine.


Speaking to Ukraine’s Rada TV channel, Oleksiy Danilov [f]said on March 1 that the Chechens had split into two groups, with one “handled” near Hostomel, a town near Kyiv, and the other “in our sights.””


Seemingly corroborating part of the statement, The Kyiv Independent reported on February 27 that Ukrainian forces had successfully destroyed a Chechen special forces column of tanks near Hostomel on Saturday 26, while on March 1, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov confirmed a small number of losses among those serving under his command in Ukraine, according to The New Voice of Ukraine.


Along similar lines, The Times of London reported last week that more than 400 Russian mercenaries are operating in Kyiv with orders to assassinate President Zelensky. The Wagner Group, a private Russian militia, flew in mercenaries from Africa five weeks ago on a mission to ‘decapitate’ Zelensky’s government.