Declassified US document reveals Putin-approved killings
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has for the first time released a document on the assassinations abroad of political opponents of president Vladimir Putin. This is a secret report from 2016, according to Bloomberg.
The report is titled Kremlin-Ordered Assassinations Abroad Will Probably Persist. US intelligence prepared it for Congress in 2016. The document lists the murders that Russian special services committed abroad from January 1, 2000, to July 2016.
According to US intelligence, the Kremlin approved
- the car bombing of Chechen politician Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in Qatar;
- the poisoning of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko with polonium-210 in London;
- the “sudden” death of businessman Alexander Perepelichnyy in the UK, which is linked to the use of toxic substances.
Russia has also targeted political and opposition leaders in key former Soviet republics. The poisoning of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004 is cited as an example. It is assumed that Russian intelligence spiked his food with dioxin when he was a presidential candidate and advocated for European integration.
Another target of the Kremlin was the so-called "minister of defense of the Luhansk People's Republic" Oleksandr Bednov (Batman). In 2015, he was burned to death in an armored car using a Bumblebee flamethrower.
US intelligence notes that Putin approved the killings and attacks. This statement is supported by the official investigation into the poisoning of Litvinenko.
The report also states that Putin has authorized the leader of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, to kill native-born citizens abroad. Murders committed by Kadyrov's men abroad have a special signature and are often accompanied by gunfire.
Navalny's death
In February 2024, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison. He had been behind bars since 2021 when he returned to Russia.
Russia claims that Navalny's death was caused by a blood clot. The EU and NATO imposed sanctions on Russia over the opposition leader's death in prison.
Some Western media suggested that Vladimir Putin was involved in Navalny's death. The Wall Street Journal suggested that Putin may not have ordered Navalny's murder, although this does not absolve him of responsibility.
