- There was an assassination attempt on Putin about two months ago, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
- Kirilo Budanov told Pravda in an interview that it was “absolutely unsuccessful”.
- Insider could not immediately verify this latest statement.
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According to a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official, Russian President Vladimir Putin survived an assassination attempt shortly after he invaded Ukraine.
Kirilo Budanov told the Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda: “There was an assassination attempt on Putin” in March.
The newspaper also published an English version of the comments.
According to Pravda’s translation, Budanov said:
“There was an attempt to assassinate Putin … He was even attacked, as they say, 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 for this event, but it happened.”
Pravda said the comments were part of a longer interview he would publish shortly.
Budanov has repeatedly circulated unverified information about threats against Putin and has not provided evidence to support his latest claim.
About a week ago, he said Putin’s health was in decline, and suggested that a coup was under way in the Kremlin that was “impossible to stop.” In an interview with Sky News, he said he expects a change of leadership by the end of the year.
Localizing the experience of “representatives of the Caucasus”, Budanov seems to be saying that Ukraine is not behind him.
The Caucasus is a large geographical region. It includes some Russian territories, including North Ossetia-Alania and Chechnya, as well as non-Russian states such as Georgia and Azerbaijan, which were once in the Soviet Union.
Anton Gerashchenko, a senior Ukrainian government official, also shared Budanov’s comments on his Telegram account.
Around the time of the alleged assassination attempt, there were already signs that the advance of Russian troops in Ukraine was fluctuating sharply, with repercussions in the Kremlin.
The allegation of assassination is the latest in a long series of allegations – with varying degrees of certainty – of Putin’s health and his influence on his leadership in Russia.
Most recently, on May 18, former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dirlov said Putin would be out of power by 2023 and would be handed over to a sanatorium.
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