A Russian missile exploded near Zelenskyy. Experts say the Ukrainian leader's still Putin's top target

The war in Ukraine brings daily dangers for all who live within its borders - in‐ cluding its president.

A missile strike on Odesa on Wednesday put these dangers in full view of the vis‐ iting leader of Greece, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when the missile reportedly hit less than a kilometre from where they were meeting.

The Russian Defence Min‐ istry said the Odesa strike was aimed at naval drones parked in a hangar. Ukrainian officials later said it appeared Moscow was targeting port infrastructure and that the presence of the two leaders was coincidental. On Thurs‐ day, a senior ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said Zelenskyy was not being tar‐ geted.

Yet the proximity of Zelen‐ skyy and Greek Prime Minis‐ ter Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the strike brings renewed atten‐ tion to what's at stake when missiles fall on Ukraine - and what can happen in unex‐ pected moments of wartime calamity.

"All Ukrainians are con‐ stantly at risk," said Marta Dyczok, a Ukraine expert at Western University, who says people across the country aren't necessarily safe in any particular location after more than two years of wide-rang‐ ing attacks.

But Zelenskyy has faced assassination threats throughout the war, and Dyc‐ zok suspects the Ukrainian leader is Moscow's top target.

Amid this backdrop, she and other analysts believe Russia would not hesitate to kill Zelenskyy should the right opportunity arise.

LISTEN | A two-year-old war with no end in sight:

"No one should have any illusions about Russian aims here. If they think they have a good shot at [Zelenskyy], they'll take it," Stephen Ses‐ tanovich, who served as the U.S. ambassador-at-large to the former Soviet Union from 1997 to 2001, said via email.

"Barely two weeks after Alexei Navalny's death, Putin isn't going to worry that killing the president of Ukraine would be bad for his global reputation."

A changed reality

Zelenskyy was plunged in‐ to a wartime leadership role two winters ago when Russ‐ ian forces rolled across Ukraine's borders.

The UN estimates that at least 10,000 Ukrainian civil‐ ians have been killed in the war. That toll that does not include the tens of thou‐ sands of Ukrainian soldiers who have died defending their country.

Moscow has failed to top‐ ple the government in Kyiv despite its massive invest‐ ment of soldiers, weapons and other resources into the invasion effort.

Throughout it all, Zelen‐ skyy has been at the fore‐ front of the battle to oust the invading forces. He's made a point of venturing into public spaces, as well as out onto the front lines.

"I think he's intentionally put himself in danger a num‐ ber of times," said Dani Nedal, an assistant professor of political science at the Uni‐ versity of Toronto.

To Nedal, it seems unlikely that the Odesa episode would change Zelenskyy's approach, given what he's been through already.

"I think on this point, he's very committed to this," Nedal said.

Western University's Dyc‐ zok notes Zelenskyy ad‐ dresses his fellow Ukrainians every night via video, as part of his efforts to stay con‐ nected to the people living through war on a daily basis.

And his appearances out‐ side Kyiv - while carefully planned - help drive home his connection to the fight.

"He is not hiding in a bunker," she said.

The University of Toron‐ to's Nedal said even the plain, military-like clothing that Zelenskyy wears is a way for him to convey that he's not simply "someone who wears a suit and sits in the capital" while a war is going on.

'Nothing can be ruled out'

If Russia were to some‐ how kill the Ukrainian leader, Dyczok said it would un‐ doubtedly be "a huge blow" to the country - though it would not stop Kyiv's fight.

Oleg Ignatov, a senior

Russia analyst for the Inter‐ national Crisis Group, a nongovernmental organization, said it's only possible to spec‐ ulate what Russia could rule in - or out - when it comes to targeting Zelenskyy.

Ignatov said Moscow does not necessarily have good in‐ telligence about Zelenskyy's daily activities. That could make it hard to reach him unless Russia had an insider to work with.

"But this is a severe war, and nothing can be ruled out," he said via email.