A senior advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Defense said the Russian private military outfit Wagner was involved in an alleged assassination plan against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, CNN reported.

“They wanted to assassinate the leadership of Ukraine: our President and Prime Minister. That was the goal and a couple of them were sent to Ukraine without any success,” according to Markian Lubkivskyi, an advisor to Ukraine’s military minister.

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Lubkivskyi stated that the plot was validated by Ukraine’s intelligence service and special troops in charge of Zelensky’s protection.

“All these documents and the necessary proof will be presented to the International Court,” he explained, adding that he couldn’t give any more information owing to operational constraints.

During Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, the Wagner organisation rose to prominence. Since then, independent research and also CNN investigations have revealed that the private military contractor has been operating in Syria and other African countries. They have been accused of persistent human rights violations by US officials and human rights watchdogs.

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The group is considered to be linked to – and funded by – Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch so close to the Kremlin that he is referred to as Putin’s “chef.”

The Kremlin has denied any involvement with the group on numerous occasions. Prigozhin denies any knowledge of Wagner.

The United Kingdom became the latest country to sanction Wagner on Thursday.

Lubkivskyi claims that Ukrainian intelligence has traced the group both inside and outside of Ukraine, and that some Wagner operatives have been slain inside the nation, their distinctive ID tags identifying them.

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Zelensky has consistently stated his intention to remain in Ukraine to lead the country’s defence during the war, which is already in its second month.

“The morale of the army is very high because our president is in Kyiv, our Prime Minister and parliament is here. This is very important to support people on the ground, to support the Ukrainian army and this is a very good signal to the international community,” Lubkivsyi said.