Ukraine reveals plot to assassinate Putin
KYIV: Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to have survived five assassination attempts and is now so fearful for his life that he has surrounded himself with an elite team of snipers.
The claims came as rumours continue to swirl about Mr Putin’s health, and after the first Russian soldier to be tried and found guilty of war crimes in Ukraine was sentenced to life in prison.
New footage of the Russian President having a meeting with his close ally, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, shows Mr Putin grimacing
and apparently gasping for breath as he awkwardly perches on his chair.
His left foot appears to continuously move as he unnaturally pivoted on his heel three times in less than a minute.
The most recent assassination attempt is thought to have taken place at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although details are only now emerging, The Sun reports.
Ukraine’s Chief of Defence Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said the “unsuccessful attempt” – which happened about a month into the war – had previously not been publicly revealed.
“This is non-public information but it took place about two months ago,” he said.
The latest assassination attempt is the most recent in a reported string of incidents.
During a state visit by Mr Putin to Azerbaijan in 2002, an Iraqi man was arrested after apparently plotting to kill the Russian President.
In November 2002, details of another plot on Mr Putin’s life emerged when explosives were set to detonate on a road near the Kremlin. The devices then mysteriously disappeared and Mr Putin’s car was rerouted, The Sun reports.
British anti-terror police reportedly thwarted a plot to kill Mr Putin in October 2003, while Chechen Adam Osmayev was paraded on Russian television after an alleged plot to assassinate Mr Putin was foiled in 2012.
The news came as a young Russian tank commander, Vadim Shishimarin, was jailed for life in Ukraine after admitting he murdered an unarmed civilian in February.
Shishimarin, 21, was fleeing from Ukrainian artillery fire in a stolen civilian car with four other soldiers when they passed Oleksandr Shelypov, 62, riding his bicycle.
Shishimarin shot Shelypov dead and was later taken into custody by Ukrainian troops He will appeal his sentence.