In an interview for the British daily The Sun, the Ukrainian president talked frankly but jokingly about being a target for assassination by Russian agents, even sharing the codename of the current Russian plot to remove him:
“The name of operation is Maidan 3. It is meant to change the president. It’s bye bye. Maybe it’s not by killing. I mean it’s changing. They will use any instruments they have.
“So that’s the idea, to the end of the year. They have even named the operation. But you see we can live with it.”
Zelensky spoke about a number of assassination attempts, but admitted that he had "lost count". The first attempt on his life was made a group of Russian special forces who parachuted into Kyiv, the same day as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
When Britain and the US offered to rescue Zelensky he responded with the timing of a former comic: “I need ammo, not a ride.”
Zelensky compared assassination attempts to COVID - at first it is terrifying and no-one knows what to do. But each further round is easier, and finally it's just one more report from intelligence:
Sources: The Sun, PAP
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