An alleged assassination plot against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was thwarted over the weekend, according to a Ukrainian security leader, who also noted the Chechen special forces behind the plot had been “eliminated.”

The Chechen special forces “were killed Saturday on the outskirts of Kyiv,” a news report said.

According to a Ukrainian newspaper, Russian President Vladimir Putin last month directed the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to carry out the assassination.