Blogger and political expert Mykhailo Shnaider analyzed in detail the situation regarding why the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate was intimidated by others. This is reported by UNN with reference to TSN.
"But these are serious statements. Friends, here Russian propaganda threatens Budanov with murder against the backdrop of negotiations in Abu Dhabi. There is a certain Scott Ritter. In Ukraine, his name is practically unknown to anyone. But in Moscow, he is a quite popular "expert" who is often quoted on central TV channels. So, on November 25, he made another scandalous tweet, which was actively replicated by the largest Russian official media: "He will die within a year. You cannot commit terrorist crimes against the Russian people and remain alive to tell about it. Budanov is a terrorist," Shnaider quoted the enemy propagandist.
He noted that threats to Budanov are not new to Russian propaganda. Calls for his physical elimination were heard even before the start of the full-scale invasion.
"There is no point in even talking about the number of assassination attempts. But until now, all this was voiced directly by someone from the pool of well-known propagandists like Solovyov-Keosayan. This time, none of the well-known "mouthpiece commentators" came out into the public sphere with similar comments. This function was entrusted to a former American military man who has been working as a full-time Putin propagandist for several years," the blogger wrote.
In his opinion, there is only one event that could have influenced such a change in format. Namely, the start of negotiations in the United Arab Emirates.
The Ukrainian negotiating delegation was headed by General Budanov. The negotiations are taking place in a trilateral format. That is, the delegations of Ukraine, the USA, and Russia are at the table. Obviously, the Russian authorities did not recommend their commentators to make such provocative statements. At this moment, Scott Ritter emerged, who is seemingly American, but also not. Since 2022, he has become one of the most replicated "experts" on Ukraine in the Russian media. His comments usually boil down to predicting the inevitable victory of "Russian weapons" and the defeat of the "Ukrainian junta," the political scientist said.
The American Wikipedia states that "In June 2024, US authorities seized Ritter's passport and banned him from visiting Russia." Shnaider noted that the propagandist was even once removed from an airline flight from Istanbul to St. Petersburg.
"However, he still somehow managed to get to Moscow, where he gave several "meaningful" interviews according to previous patterns. Ritter likes to talk about persecution by the American authorities. But his biography is full of such stories that it is not entirely clear how he ended up free. American law enforcement officers have repeatedly exposed him committing shameful crimes against minors. Once he was indeed convicted and served time in prison. In any case, Scott Ritter is an interesting and multifaceted personality. Who launched a serious information wave. The ultimate goal of which can hardly be accurately calculated without direct insights from the Kremlin," the blogger stated.