FSB unit created to target Russian opposition abroad, report reveals

In the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), a unit tasked with persecuting Russian opposition figures abroad has been established, as reported by the independent Russian service Możem Objasnit on Wednesday.

Gennady Gudkov, a former Russian deputy and FSB officer, informed the site that the authorities had faced challenges in appointing a leader for the new unit due to a lack of volunteers.

"For now, we don’t know their exact plans - whether they'll be engaging in analysis, deploying agents, or even planning to assassinate us. Rumours suggest there’s a list of individuals considered most troublesome by the Kremlin, and I've been told I’m likely on that list as well," shared Gudkov, an opposition politician living in exile.

According to him, executing attacks is not a significant challenge for Putin's agents due to their substantial financial resources in Europe, which allow them "to buy anyone".

Gudkov believes that "no country is completely safe". He noted that carrying out attacks in the United Kingdom, Germany, and, to some extent, France is somewhat more challenging. On the other hand, Spain, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro present fewer obstacles to such activities.

Recently, Vladimir Osechkin, the founder of the Gulagu.net project, revealed in an interview with Khodorkovsky Live that the Kremlin had initiated a campaign against opposition figures.

Osechkin added that Putin employs state terrorism tactics, activating sleeper agents and dispatching assassins to target those he views as threats. "Putin's objective is to terrorize the opposition," he stated, just days before Leonid Volkov, the former chief of staff for the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, was attacked.

Volkov was assaulted on a Tuesday evening in Vilnius. The assailant broke the window of Volkov's car, sprayed tear gas into his eyes, and then began assaulting him with a hammer.

In late February, Volkov advocated for protests during the Russian elections, stressing that it represented "the direct political will of Alexei Navalny."

Source: Możem Objasnit/PAP