US declassifies document on targeted killings of Putin's political opponents - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
US intelligence has released a report on the elimination of Putin's political opponents abroad. The document reveals the details of the murders of Yandarbiev, Litvinenko, Perepelychny and others.
U.S. intelligence has released part of a report that discloses information about the targeted elimination of political opponents of Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin by Russian special services, UNN reports, citing Bloomberg.
Details
A declassified U.S. document, which, according to the newspaper, states that "Putin is likely to authorize assassinations of high-ranking officials abroad," lists a number of political assassinations that intelligence reports were carried out by Russian special services.
In particular, the murder of the former leader of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, in 2004 in Qatar is mentioned. The perpetrators of the crime, employees of the game Anatoly Belashkov and Vasily Bogachev, were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Qatari court, but were soon transferred to Russia. They were supposed to serve their sentences in their home country, but in 2005 the Federal Penitentiary Service stated that it did not know their whereabouts.
The document also mentions the 2006 poisoning of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium in London. The British investigation found that the direct perpetrator was an officer of the Main Directorate of the Russian Security Service, Andrei Lugovoy, who later became a member of the State Duma. In the UK, this murder was recognized as a special operation of the FSB.
In 2012, Russian businessman Alexander Perepelichny, a key informant in the case of money laundering by Russian officials in Europe, died in the UK. American intelligence claims that he was poisoned, although British police have not found sufficient evidence.
In 2015, Luhansk militant Alexander Bednov was killed when gunmen opened fire on his armored bus. The United States believes that this killing, as well as the elimination of other separatists, was sanctioned by the Kremlin to strengthen Russia's control in the region.
The document notes that Moscow systematically uses special services to eliminate people who pose a threat to the regime. Experts believe that this practice is likely to continue.
Recall
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny died on February 16, 2024, in the Polar Wolf special regime colony in the village of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The death certificate states that the oppositionist died of natural causes. Navalny's supporters believe that he was murdered.
