A kill squad sent to Ukraine by Vladimir Putin has failed to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it has been reported.
The group of 25 military assassins led by Russian special services were captured near the Slovakia-Hungary border, rumbling their plot.
The news was revealed in a Tweet by the Kyiv Post, which reported that the group's goal was "the physical elimination of the Ukrainian President."
Zelensky has avoided multiple assassination attemps as he has become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance against the Russian military.
Earlier this month it was revealed that Zelensky had survived multiple after plots were foiled by double agents.
Want all the latest news and analysis from Ukraine? Sign up to our World News Bulletin here
A group of 400 mercenaries from the Kremlin-backed Wagner group and Chechen special forces were reportedly sent to Ukraine up to five weeks ago to 'decapitate' the Ukrainian government.
In one week alone, it is believed there have been three attempts to take out President Zelensky.
Yesterday, he said he was willing to meet Putin on some of its demands if Russian troops withdraw from the country.
Zelensky told a group of Russian independent journalists on Sunday that Kyiv was prepared to become neutral and meet Moscow on some of its demands.
It would abandon its drive to join NATO and vow not to develop nuclear weapons, on the basis that Russia would withdraw troops and give Kyiv security guarantees.
No peace deal would be possible without a ceasefire and withdrawal of troops, he said, though he ruled out trying to recapture all Russian-held territory by force, saying it "would lead to a third world war".
The aim, he said, was to reach a “compromise” over the eastern Donbas region, held by Russian-backed forces since 2014.
However, Zelenskiy said Ukraine refused to discuss certain other Russian demands, such as the demilitarisation of the country.
Zelensky hosted a video call - which the Kremlin preemptively warned Russian media not to report - to deliver his message directly to Russian journalists on the eve of a new round of peace talks in Turkey.
The president has previously spoken in Russian in speeches aimed at a Russian audience.
The proposed meeting midway was on condition that the changes were put to a referendum and third parties promised to protect Ukraine, he said.
“Security guarantees and neutrality, the non-nuclear status of our state — we’re ready to do that.
“That’s the most important point… they started the war because of it,” Zelensky said.
