Ukraine’s Deputy Intelligence Chief Vadim Skibitsky revealed recently that Russian President Vladimir Putin is on the country’s hit list.
QUICK FACTS:
- Vadim Skibitsky, Ukraine’s Deputy Intelligence Chief, said this week that Putin was on the country’s list of people to kill.
- While speaking to the media Wednesday, Skibitsky claimed President Putin “notices that we’re getting ever closer to him.”
- According to the intel chief, the intelligence service has not been successful in killing the Russian leader because he “stays holed up.”
- When questioned about the connection between Ukraine and the assassinations of journalist and activist Darya Dugina last August and military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in April, Skibitsky said that these attacks were “inside jobs.”
- The Ukrainian official also claimed that various groups within the Russian elite were fighting each other to gain power.
UKRAINIAN DEPUTY INTELLIGENCE CHIEF VADIM SKIBITSKY ON THE COUNTRY’S PLOT AGAINST RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN:
“Our priority is to eliminate the unit commander who orders his men to attack,” Skibitsky said.
BACKGROUND:
- In April 2023, a German newspaper alleged that Ukrainian special forces tried to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin using a military drone packed with explosives.
- German newspaper Bild reported that Ukraine had received advanced intelligence of Putin’s planned visit to a factory at the time, enabling them to carry out a long-range strike.
- The publication cited their own research and quoted pro-Ukraine activist Yuriy Romanenko, who is said to be close to Ukrainian intelligence.
- According to the sources, the drone, which carried 17 kilograms (37 pounds) of ‘C4’ plastic explosives, managed to infiltrate Russia’s air defenses.
- While Russia confirmed the discovery of a “fallen drone stuffed with explosives” outside Moscow, they denied any connection to an assassination plot. A Kremlin spokesman dismissed the claims as “yellow-press-style fabrications,” stating, “No, we are not familiar with these publications. Right now, there are a lot of such various ‘yellow-press-style fabrications.’ This does not mean that we should look into them.”
