Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly escaped an assassination attempt in March, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began. Contrary to previous rumors, this information was released not by anonymous sources on the Internet, but by the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, General Kirill Budanov, who says he has no doubts about its veracity.
“There was an assassination attempt on Putin. This information is not public. It was a failed attempt, but it really took place. It was about two months ago,” Budanov told the Ukrainian Pravda website. The full interview will not air until Tuesday, but in a short commercial released on Monday, the head of Kyiv’s intelligence services insists that the alleged attack “actually happened.” “I repeat, this assassination attempt was unsuccessful,” says the general, who attributes the alleged attack on Putin to “people from the Caucasus,” without elaborating.
As recently as last week, in an interview with Sky News, Budanov said a coup to remove Putin from power was “already underway” and that the Russian leader was “severely ill” with cancer. When asked then whether this information was propaganda, Budanov answered categorically: “This is my work. If I don’t know about it, who knows?”
The Kremlin has not commented on the alleged assassination attempt on Putin, nor has it commented on the growing rumors about the president’s health. Rumors once again circulated this Monday that Putin had recently undergone cancer surgery. According to the Telegram account “General SVR”, the 69-year-old Russian president reportedly underwent surgery early last week and the operation was successful, but on Friday night he had problems recovering and his health deteriorated, although he later recovered. During this period, Russian television is said to have shown falsified and archival footage to give the impression that Putin was sticking to his usual plans.
Russian soldier sentenced to life imprisonment
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Azovstal soldiers will be judged
The Ukrainian military who surrendered at the Azovstal plant will be judged by an “international court” in the self-proclaimed Donetsk region, said the head of the region, Denis Pushilin.
Russian airstrike kills 87 soldiers
At least 87 Ukrainian servicemen were killed in a Russian airstrike on a training center in the city of Desna last week, the most brutal strike ever against Ukrainian forces.
