The Ukraine/Russia conflict continues to heat up as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his military offensive against the former member of the Soviet Union. On Friday, it was revealed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has allegedly survived three assassination attempts since Russia invaded his country last week.

The Times Of London reported:

Two different outfits have been sent to kill the Ukrainian president — mercenaries of the Kremlin-backed Wagner group and Chechen special forces. Both have been thwarted by anti-war elements within Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Wagner mercenaries in Kyiv have sustained losses during their attempts and are said to have been alarmed by how accurately the Ukrainians had anticipated their moves. A source close to the group said it was “eerie” how well briefed Zelensky’s security team appeared to be.

The report indicated that mercenaries working with the Russian-backed Wagner group and Chechen special forces were unsuccessful in their attempts to eliminate the Ukrainian president because they were thwarted by anti-war elements within the Kremlin’s Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB. “They would be going in there with a very high-profile mission, something that the Russians would want to be deniable — a decapitation of a head of state is a huge mission,” an unnamed official told The Times.

Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov earlier this week confirmed that Chechen special forces also made an attempt on Zelensky’s life. He said:

“I can say that we have received information from the FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service], who today do not want to take part in this bloody war. And thanks to this, I can say that [Chechen leader Ramzan] Kadyrov’s elite group was destroyed directly, which came here to eliminate our president.”

The European Union targeted the Wagner Group for sanctions in December for committing “serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, and destabilizing activist” in various nations according to Fox News. The news outlet also noted that the mercenaries who attempted to eliminate Zelensky may have been present in the region for quite some time before the invasion:

Former U.S. intelligence officials speculated to Fox News Digital that these mercenaries more likely have been operating in Kyiv for months because Russian President Vladimir Putin required on-the-ground intelligence in the Ukrainian capital in advance of the planned invasion that began five days ago.

If this report is accurate, it could be yet another indicator of what many have already speculated: Putin underestimated the level of opposition he would face after invading Ukraine. Indeed, other reports suggested that the Kremlin was not prepared to deal with protests in Russia and the rest of the world uniting to punish Moscow for its brazen act of tyranny.

However, it is also worth noting that with all the propaganda and false reports that have floated around in the atmosphere, we must take each story with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, the idea that Putin would try to have Zelensky assassinated is not exactly a stretch given what his regime has done to journalists opposing his rule. Either way, it is clear that despite the opposition, Putin means business.