Ukrainian military intelligence admitted that there were several attempts to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, the German newspaper Die reported WELT.
„But as you can see, they were unsuccessful,”, intelligence chief Kirilo Budanov said mysteriously, without revealing details of when or how. It is also unclear which Ukrainian services are behind the assassination attempts against Putin, who in February 2022 launched a full-scale war against Ukraine.
But Budanov is known for the provocations that are part of his psychological warfare. The Kremlin reacted to the statement: the spokesman Dmitry Peskov made it clear that the safety of the first person in Russia will be adequately taken care of by the Russian services.
Against this background, Radio Svoboda reported that another air defense system “Pantsir” has been deployed next to Putin's residence in Valdai to guard the Russian president. Satellite images show that in the month of March 2024, the Russian services deployed the complex in question there.
Budanov added fuel to the fire by saying that Putin is no longer the universally recognized figure in the Russian elite. But since he has been in power for more than 20 years, the Russians are afraid of losing him. Therefore, he expects something similar to happen after Putin's death, as after the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1953. For the people of the Soviet Union, “their whole world collapsed and they did not know how to continue living,”, the boss said of military intelligence in Kiev.
Little is known about attempted attacks on Putin during his long tenure as Kremlin chief. Information has emerged, but without evidence, that men from the Caucasus attempted to assassinate Putin in May 2022, a few weeks after the invasion.
Budanov and President Volodymyr Zelensky, for their part, are also targeted by the Russian services, which have repeatedly foiled unsuccessful attempts to eliminate them.
Even in the first hours after the invasion, Russian special forces tried to reach the presidential complex in Kyiv to kill Zelensky and overthrow his cabinet.
Military experts point out that while Putin is the most protected man in Russia, perhaps in the world, his immunity is only apparent. The rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin and his private army proved it. In just hours, Putin's seemingly eternal regime could be overthrown.
Polish military expert Daniel Szeligowski said the war must be moved to Russian territory to stop the war in Ukraine. Putin's regime is built on war. If there is a real threat to the Kremlin's power, it could change Putin's calculations regarding Ukraine. He believes that Western countries should take a proactive position, conduct offensive information operations against the Russian regime and Russia, create internal and external problems for the regime so that Ukraine can win the war faster.