Putin survives multiple assassination attempts, says Ukrainian intel chief
- There have already been attempts to assassinate Vladimir Putin, but they have failed - reported Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence HUR. The General also referred to attempts to assassinate him.
1:03 PM EDT, July 13, 2024
When asked if he was aware of any assassination attempts on Putin, the head of HUR said: "There have been such attempts, but as you can see, they have failed so far."
He recalled his grandmother's stories about Stalin's death. "She said that people felt as if their whole world had collapsed and they did not know how to go on living. Putin has been in power for over 20 years, so it will be a very similar feeling (when he dies), and now Russians are afraid of losing him because he is a guarantor of stability in their lives," the military noted.
Budanov in the crosshairs
The portal reminded that the latest attempt on Budanov's life 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, it will be a problem," he said.
- Many people there in Russia tried and are still trying to kill me, in various ways. But, as you can see, the effectiveness is zero - emphasized the head of HUR.
The head of Ukraine's defense intelligence believes that the Kerch Bridge, which illegally connects Crimea, annexed by Moscow with Russia, is an unnecessary engineering structure in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine. "It is a symbol, much more important than the destruction of even 60 train cars with military equipment. There are thousands of those vehicles, but the bridge is only one," said Budanov.
"The bridge must be destroyed," he added.
As he stressed, Crimea is no longer an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" for Russia; it has become an "uncomfortable territory." In his view, the Russians do not need the bridge in a practical sense, but it is "part of the skeleton of the empire."
"We 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," concluded Budanov.
