Claims by a Ukrainian official about an assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin have raised eyebrows.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's Chief Intelligence Directorate, made the claim in an interview to Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian media outlet, on Monday. Budanov claimed the attempt on Putin's life happened after the invasion of Ukraine started.
Budanov told Ukrainska Pravda “There was an attempt to assassinate Putin… He was even attacked, it is said, by representatives of the Caucasus, not so long ago. This is non-public information. [It was an] Absolutely unsuccessful attempt, but it really happened… It was about 2 months ago. I repeat, this attempt was unsuccessful. There was no publicity about this event, but it took place.” Ukrainska Pravda made the claim in a teaser of the interview, which it claimed would be be published in full on Tuesday.
The Caucasus region includes the once-restive republic of Chechnya, which saw a bloody Islamist insurgency that Putin had suppressed.
UK-based iNews reported western sources were doubtful about the veracity of the claim by Budanov. iNews quoted a source as saying “President Putin is operating—and has done through Covid and in an enduring basis—in a smaller and smaller grouping. He has fewer contacts, he has fewer public engagements. It’s a more controlled environment around him. So were anyone to attempt to do something like that it would be a hugely complex operation.”
Previous attempts?
The claim by Budanov is being seen as the sixth time Putin has faced a assassination attempt. A 2017 interview of Putin by Oliver Stone claimed Putin had faced five assassination attempts.
Australia-based news.com.au reported “One plot was foiled by Russian intelligence shortly before the 2012 presidential election in Russia. Several men were arrested in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa after being tasked with killing Putin by Islamist Chechen rebels. He faced a similar assassination attempt on the day of the 2008 Russian presidential election, with a Tajik sniper arrested hours before Putin was due to give a speech in Red Square in Moscow. Suicide bombers are also reported to have considered an attack on Putin during a trip to the Iranian capital Tehran in 2007.”
Dr Leonid Petrov, a visiting fellow of Australian National University, told news.com.au that a potential attempt on Putin's life was most likely to come from his security services, the people closest to him. Petrov argued that as Putin is perceived to be a womaniser, a hypothetical assassin may be a woman.