Russia ‘foils plot to assassinate Vladimir Putin’
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on Jan. 27, 2009. Born in 1952, the prime minister is a controversial figure in Russian politics, and like many other Dragons has a reputation for his mix of intelligence and temper.
Russian and Ukrainian security forces today arrested two men in connection with a failed plot to assassinate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Bloomberg reported.
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According to reports on Russia’s Channel One state television, the men are suspected of planning to murder Putin in Moscow after next month’s presidential election on March 4.
The channel reported that the men were allegedly acting on the orders of the Chechen rebel Doku Umarov, who has previously claimed responsibility for attacks in Russia, the Associated Press reported.
It is understood the men were subject to an international arrest warrant, and were arrested in the Ukrainian Black Sea town of Odessa, after arriving in the country from the United Arab Emirates via Turkey.
Ukraine’s Security Service detained three Russian citizens on terrorist charges in Odessa earlier this month, but it is unclear if there is a connection with the plot to assassinate Putin, the AP reported.
The investigation into the plot was spurred by an accidental explosion that occurred at a rented apartment when the men were allegedly trying to manufacture explosives, Ukrainian security officials said.