Kyiv
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As Russian tanks rolled over the border in February 2022, rumors that Volodymyr Zelensky had fled Ukraine were rife. With Kyiv under heavy bombardment and Russia closing in, European leaders feared the worst. Then the Ukrainian leader posted a grainy video of himself standing in the dark in front of the presidency building, flanked by his top advisors, and announced simply: “We are here.”
Zelensky’s removal was a key part of Russia’s plan to take over Ukraine – a project Moscow expected to complete in days. He was to be taken or killed, unless he ran away first. A source close to the president told CNN that Russian agents had rented apartments in the immediate vicinity of the…