Zelensky prepares to flee Ukraine

The United States and allies are preparing for the possibility that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be forced to flee the country as Russian forces close in on the capital Kyiv, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

According to the report, the US has planned for a scenario in which Zelensky will escape to neighboring Poland and form a government-in-exile there.

The State Department, Pentagon and other federal agencies have drawn up plans to assist Zelensky in getting out of the country which they fear will eventually be overtaken by the invading army despite fierce resistance from Ukrainians.

Zelensky on Saturday dismissed claims by Moscow that he had already fled to Poland, sharing a selfie video on Instagram of him in his Kyiv office.

“I am in Kyiv. I am working here. Nobody has escaped," Zelensky wrote on his Instagram account.

Zelensky has called himself "Russia's number one target," reportedly surviving three assassination attempts since the start of the Russian military invasion 11 days ago.

A Ukrainian source said that Zelensky refused an offer by the US to relocate him to the western city of Lviv where they could help him escape to Poland.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin has upped the rhetoric, threatening the existence of Ukrainian statehood.

"The current (Ukrainian) authorities must understand that if they continue to do what they are doing, they are putting in question the future of Ukrainian statehood," Putin said on Saturday.

"And if this happens, they will be fully responsible."

It was earlier reported that Putin allegedly wants to reinstall former pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych as the leader of Ukraine.

Yanukovych was ousted from his position after a series of protests against him during the 2014 Maidan Revolution — where Ukrainians took to the streets in response to the official’s refusal to ink an agreement with the European Union.