On Sunday, a group of assassins arrived in Ukraine, with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence stating that their mission was to assassinate the country’s top military and political leaders. According to one report, the Russian president “personally ordered another attack by one of his proxies,” referring to the Wagner group.

According to the report, all previous attempts had failed, with the “elimination” of Wagner mercenaries at the hands of Ukrainian forces.

According to the Ukrainian news site Unian, the group was only stopped after an anti-war faction within Russia’s secret service informed Mr Zelensky’s team of their location.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak are also reportedly on the squad’s hit list.

There have been reports of Mr Zelensky surviving three to twelve assassination attempts since the war began on February 24.

The president’s office chief, Mikhail Podolyak, told Pravda.com earlier this month that he believed there were more than a dozen attempts.

Mr Zelensky was allegedly assassinated by mercenaries from the Kremlin-backed Wagner group and Chechen special forces.

The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, and his brother Wladimir are also said to be on the Wagner group’s hit list.

According to a source familiar with the Wagner group’s activities, between 2,000 and 4,000 members arrived in Ukraine in January with various missions.

The group is thought to be following Mr Zelensky and his colleagues using their cellphones.

Members of the Wagner group have previously been accused of committing war crimes in the countries where they have served.

Following allegations of human rights violations in the Central African Republic, the European Union sanctioned three Wagner individuals and entities.

“Wagner Group has recruited, trained, and sent private military operatives to conflict zones around the world to fuel violence, loot natural resources, and intimidate civilians in violation of international law, including international human rights law,” the statement said.

Russian men claiming to be members of the group flew to Syria on military planes to assist Bashar al Assad loyalists.

Russia has insisted that its campaign was conducted solely by air.

The report of an assassination attempt comes as Russia continues to bombard the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s military issued a public warning about more indiscriminate Russian shelling of infrastructure.

Kyiv has asked Moscow to allow emergency supplies into Mariupol and to release at least 100,000 civilians who want to flee.