United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Sunday, 6 March, that there are set ‘plans in place’ to ensure the continuity of the Ukrainian government in case President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is captured or killed by Kremlin.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly claimed that Russian mercenaries are operating from Kyiv who’ve been ordered to assassinate him. Western officials have also stated the increase in Russian spies in Ukraine since before Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
According to a report in The Times, the assassination plots were successfully averted after officials in the war-hit Ukraine were alerted about them.
Speaking to CBS News' ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday, Blinken said,
“The Ukrainian government’s leadership is remarkable. I spoke to the Ukrainian foreign minister who said that his country has plans in place to ensure continuity in government.”
US, Allies Stress on Succession Plan
The US, English and European Union officials said that they will not recognise the puppet government that Russia will form in Kyiv in the event Ukraine loses the war. The governments stressed that a firm succession plan with a recognised legal leader would make it easier for allies to undermine a Russian-controlled government in Ukraine, as reported by The New York Times.
However, the Ukraine officials said that they are focusing on with winning the war instead of forming a strategy around the line of succession in the country.
(With inputs from The New York Times.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)