Putin assassination attempts revealed, says Ukrainian intel chief
2:26 PM EDT, July 13, 2024
There have already been assassination attempts on Vladimir Putin, but they have been unsuccessful, said the head of Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, on Saturday to the portal Novoye Vremya. "Russians have a fear of losing him because he is the guarantor of their life stability," he added. Budanov also spoke about the destruction of the Kerch Bridge.
When asked if he knew about any assassination attempts on Putin, Budanov said, "There have been attempts to kill Putin, but as you can see, they have also failed so far."
Referring to the question about the "assassination attempt on Putin," Budanov mentioned his grandmother's stories about Stalin's death. "She said that people then felt that their whole world had collapsed, they didn't know how to live. Putin has been in power for more than 20 years, so it will be a very similar feeling," assessed the military official.
"Russians have a fear of losing him because he is the guarantor of their life stability."
Budanov had talked about assassination attempts on Putin already in May 2022. One of the attempts was supposed to happen at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "There was an attempt to assassinate Putin… He was even attacked, it is said, 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," Budanov explained on the Ukrainian Pravda website.
The Ukrainian portal reminded that the latest assassination attempt on Budanov himself was carried out at the beginning of May. "That means we are doing our job well. But if they suddenly stop being interested in me, that will be a problem," he said.
"Many people there (in Russia - editor's note) have tried and are still trying to kill me, in various ways. But, as you can see, the effectiveness is zero," assessed the head of HUR.
Bridge to Crimea to be destroyed
Budanov also discussed the change in the position of the Russian Minister of Defense—Andrey Belousov replaced Sergey Lavrov. According to the Ukrainian, the main goal of this change is, among other things, the greatest possible optimization of military expenditures.
Budanov assessed that Russians perceive Belousov as a purely pro-Western person. He has repeatedly said that the West is a friend of Russia and that everything that is happening in relations (West-Russia) in Ukraine is a terrible mistake that needs to be fixed. He needs to establish some communication and be a negotiator in relations with the West, and, unfortunately, he has had some success in this.
Moreover, the head of Ukraine's defense intelligence believes that the Kerch Bridge, connecting illegally annexed Crimea with Russia, is an unnecessary engineering construction on the Russian-occupied south of Ukraine.
It is a symbol, much more important than the destruction of even 60 railway wagons with military equipment. There are thousands of these vehicles, but the bridge is only one, says Budanov.
"The bridge must be destroyed," he declared.
As he emphasized, Crimea is no longer for Russia an "unsinkable aircraft carrier," it has become an "uncomfortable territory." In his opinion, Russians do not need the bridge in a practical sense, but it is "part of the skeleton of the empire."
Budanov concluded that they have fought and will continue to fight, perhaps for a long time, but the future of Ukraine will be very interesting. It cannot be otherwise.
