Oligarchs angry at curbs on power 'behind assassination attempt of Ukrainian president's aide'

The Ukrainian president said an assassination attempt on one of his senior aides was an attempt to intimidate him amid a row with powerful oligarchs, and promised a robust response.

Serhiy Shefir, a close advisor and friend of Volodymyr Zelenskiy was targeted on Wednesday morning when his car came under fire from automatic weapons, Ukrainian officials said.

Mr Shefir escaped unscathed, but his driver was severely wounded.

Mr Zelenskiy, who is currently in New York attending the UN General Assembly, posted a video in response saying he was unsure who was behind the attack but he viewed it as an attempt to intimidate him.

“To send me their regards by shooting at my friend’s car from the forest is a sign of weakness,” the Ukrainian leader said. “My response will be strong.”

He hinted at Ukraine’s powerful oligarchs possibly being behind the shooting, saying that his team’s “course towards changes, cleansing our economy, fighting crime and major groups of financial influence is unchanged.”

“Serhiy Shefir’s car has been shot at by unknown people: Their intentions were clearly serious: the car was riddled by automated fire,” Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said in a statement, adding that more than 10 bullets hit the care.

Mr Shefir was attacked just a few days before Mr Zelenskiy’s bill to rein in Ukraine’s super-rich oligarchs will be debated in parliament.

The bill could introduce the list of oligarchs, barring them from funding political parties and other activities in a bid to cut their outsized role in Ukrainian politics.

Ukraine’s super-rich own entire industries, but they have also heavily invested in political campaigns and media empires that are ready to take down any politician if they fall out of favour with the channel’s owner.

Mr Zelenskiy became the country’s president in 2019 after standing as a wildcard candidate.

Several years before he was elected, Mr Zelenskiy foretold his future when he played the lead role in a comedy series about a teacher who becomes president.

Mr Shefir, the chief producer of Mr Zelenskiy’s production company and one of the main scriptwriters for the hit television programme, has been Mr Zelenskiy's chief aide since his election in 2019.

Ukrainian police said Mr Shefir’s car came under fire as it was driving on a highway in the woods about 20 kilometres away from the capital Kyiv.

Mr Shefir appeared in front of the press on Wednesday afternoon, saying that there was no reason for anyone to want to kill him: “We were driving, and then the shots rang out. The driver was wounded but he kept going. It was a bit scary.”

Mr Shefir insisted that the attack was meant to frighten the Ukrainian leadership.

“I think this is intimidation,” he said.

“Our president is very strong-willed: he has a spine and won't be intimidated.”

Ukrainian police said they were looking into several theories but they all focus on the advisor's work for the president.

Mr Sherif said that his car was not bulletproof and that he never employed a bodyguard, adding that he will now have to reconsider his security protocol.

Ukrainian police on Wednesday released the images of Mr Shefir’s black Audi, riddled with bullet holes.

The driver was taken to hospital but Mr Shefir said there was no threat to his life.

Several Ukrainian politicians have suggested that Russia might be involved in the attack on Mr Shefir without offering any evidence.

A Kremlin spokeswoman on on Wednesday afternoon denied the accusations.