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), reports The Times.

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, The Times reported.

A source close to the group told the news magazine it was “eerie” how well briefed Zelensky’s security team appeared to be.

Russia invaded Ukraine last Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian emergency services on Friday said the fire in the training building of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant has been extinguished.

The agency said no casualties have been reported.

"At 06:20 (local time) the fire in the training building of Zaporizhzhya NPP in Energodar was extinguished. There are no victims," it said.

A fire had broken out at the nuclear plant in the wee hours of Friday as Russian forces attacked "from all sides," with firefighters unable to reach the site.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy activated its nuclear response team following the attack on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had put its Incident and Emergency Center in full 24/7 response mode over the situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP).

Earlier, the Zaporizhzhya NPP reported about a fire on its territory but later the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said that the blaze had erupted outside the plant, with one of its units having been switched off.