Shadowy assassin group baying for President Zelensky’s blood after failing twice
In a bid to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has unleashed a band of mercenaries renowned for war atrocities known as the Wagner Group into the conflict.
While the world has marvelled at the brave Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion, Vladimir Putin has quietly slipped the elite group of killers into the country with President Zelensky their number one target.
The shadowy organisation is believed to be owned by Putin's close friend Dmitry Utkin and has served as a private military in many of the world's bloodiest conflicts including Syria and the 2014 Donbas conflict.
Perhaps in a bid to hammer home that they're the bad guys, the group's insignia bears a skull in the crosshairs of a gun – nice.
The group has often been accused of committing war crimes in the conflicts they operate in and many members, including Utkin, have been accused of neo-Nazi links.
After their deployment in Ukraine, each member of the 400 man hit squad was given a list of 24 names.
Along with President Zelensky, the list is thought to include the prime minister, the cabinet, the mayor of Kyiv, former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir.
The manner in which the Wagner Group operates makes them almost impossible to punish according to General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of Joint Forces Command.
Speaking to the Mail, he explained: "They are very effective because they are hard to pin down.
"They can appear from the shadows, do very violent things and then disappear again, without it being obvious who was responsible.
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"They are not directly linked to the Russian government and therefore they are plausibly deniable."
According to The Times, since the group infiltrated Kyiv they have attempted to assassinate President Zelensky two times but have been foiled by his security team – who were tipped off by anti-war elements within Russia’s Federal Security Service.
In both unsuccessful attempts, the group has sustained losses with a source telling the newspaper it was “eerie” how prepared Zelensky’s security team appeared to be.
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Another source close to the group revealed that another attempt on the President's life was likely to happen "this weekend", as Putin piles more pressure on the group to work through their hit list.
They said: "It only takes one of them to get lucky and everyone goes home with a bonus."
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