LONDON, July 12. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is gripped by paranoia that Russia is plotting to assassinate him, Reuters said, citing a high-ranking European official.

According to the official, Zelensky’s actions and rhetoric show him growing "increasingly paranoid" about potential "attempts to assassinate him and destabilize Ukraine's leadership" by Russia. Moreover, unnamed Ukrainian and Western officials say that Zelensky "has become tougher and more decisive, less tolerant of mistakes" by Ukrainian officials amid "round-the-clock stress and fatigue" in "a sleep-deprived regime."

Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on February 5, 2023 that Russian President Vladimir Putin had reassured him at the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine that there was no physical threat to Zelensky. He said that after the conversation with Putin he had called the Ukrainian leader to convey Putin’s words. Shortly after that, Zelensky posted a video where he said that he feared nothing. The Kremlin however refused to comment on Bennett’s words.