Putin 'survived assassination attempt two months ago, Ukraine's intelligence chief claims'

Vladimir Putin is said to have survived an assassination attempt two months ago, Ukraine’s intelligence chief has claimed according to local media.

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, said there was an attempt to kill the Russian President after he invaded Ukraine, according to newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.

The newspaper claims Budanov said representatives from the region of Caucasus, which includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and parts of southern Russia, tried to assassinate Putin.

‘There was an attempt to assassinate Putin. He was even attacked, it is said, by representatives of the Caucasus, not so long ago,’ Budanov said, according to the local newspaper.

‘This is non-public information. [It was an] absolutely unsuccessful attempt, but it really happened. It was about two months ago.

‘I repeat, this attempt was unsuccessful. There was no publicity about this event, but it took place.’

Putin is said to be fearful of an assassination attempt against him since his decision to invade Ukraine.

Last month, Putin took his ‘nuclear football’ – a briefcase that can launch an attack remotely – to the funeral of a far-right politician. Mourners were cleared away when the President paid his respects to ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, showing his fears of an assassination attempt.

Putin has previously claimed he has escaped numerous assiassination attempts. 

In 2017, Putin told filmmaker Oliver Stone that there had been five assassination attempts against him – and the only reason he is alive because he deals with his own security personally. 

‘I do my job and the security officers do theirs and they are still performing quite successfully,’ Putin said in the documentary ‘The Putin Interviews’.

Putin is said to travel with his own sniper squad whose role is to locate any shooters and kill them before they are able to pull the trigger on Putin.

In 2012, a former public schoolboy in Britain was arrested in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate Putin.

Adam Osmayev, who is from a prominent Chechen family opposed to Putin, was seized by special forces in Odessa and he allegedly confessed to wanting to travel to Moscow and kill Putin, then a presidential candidate, by bombing his motorcade.  

Osmayev spent years in prison in Ukraine after being of the assassination plot. Moscow had attempted in vain for him to be extradited to Russia, but Kyiv had refused to. 

In March, a former British Army chief said NATO and Western allies should not rule out the possibility of assassinating Putin.

Colonel Richard Kemp said Putin represents a ‘permanent and deadly threat’ and killing him may be ‘unpalatable’ to some, but it could help save thousands of lives.

Osama Bin Laden, Islamic State chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi and Iranian Republican Guard Commander Qasem Soleimani were all killed to counter threats, the colonel argued.

Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded British troops in Afghanistan, told the Mirror: ‘NATO should consider all options to remove him from power. That would include killing him although it is not likely to be viable or desirable.’

Earlier this month, a former top US general said Putin will be desperate to stay in power because his successor may want to assassinate him.

In the cutthroat halls of Russian power politics, where he cannot rely on the rule of law and institutions of government to protect him, Putin may be in real danger from senior military and security figures over Russia’s catastrophic performance in the invasion of Ukraine.

General Jack Keane said Putin, who is reported to be in severely bad health, will do ‘anything’ to stay in power after finding the bite he has taken out of Ukraine might be more than he can chew.