Are Russian FSB Spies Turning On Putin?

President Zelensky has survived at least three assassination attempts in the past week, The Times reports.

It appears from reports that two different outfits have been sent to kill the Ukrainian president. These are mercenaries of the Kremlin-backed Wagner group and Chechen special forces. Both have been thwarted by anti-war elements within Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Is this the first sign that Putin’s regime is under an internal threat?

Wagner mercenaries in Kyiv have sustained losses during their attempts and are said to have been alarmed by how accurately the Ukrainians had anticipated their moves. A source close to the group said it was “eerie” how well-briefed Zelensky’s security team appeared to be.

Information that accurate is unlikely to be Western led intelligence.

On Saturday an attempt on Zelensky’s life was foiled on the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukrainian security officials said a group of Chechen assassins had been “eliminated” before they could reach the president.

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, told Ukrainian TV channels that Russian spies had tipped them off about the planned assassination.

Ukrainian officials claim the information that led to the deaths of the Chechens came from disgruntled agents in the FSB who oppose the invasion.

“I can say that we have received information from the FSB, who do not want to take part in this bloody war,” Danilov said. “And thanks to this, the Kadyrov elite group was destroyed, which came here to eliminate our president.”

Of course, in the fog of war – how true this is, is to be confirmed.

Officials went on to say that “the Wagner mercenaries were unaware of the Chechen assassins but have carried out their own attempts to decapitate the government, after being embedded in Kyiv for more than six weeks, tracking the activities of 24 high-profile Ukrainian targets.”

The group had been told to await the arrival of the Spetsnaz — Russian special forces — to provide them with a secure corridor out of Kyiv once the assassinations had been completed. They believed the storming of Kyiv would provide a distraction and an opportunity to complete their mission.

However, with a convoy of tanks stuck outside the city, the pace of the attack has been slower than expected.

The mercenaries have come under fierce pressure from Moscow to bring forward their operations to secure a visible victory and they are said to intend to carry out the 24 assassinations on their “kill list” in a matter of days.

A source close to the mercenaries in Kyiv insists that despite the loss of some of the group in botched operations this week, the numbers are still on their side, with almost 400 in the capital alone.

“It only takes one of them to get lucky and everyone goes home with a bonus,” The Times reported. The mercenaries are believed to have drawn up plans for another attempt before the weekend.

Putin’s forces are now almost fully engaged. The war for Ukraine is about to escalate. For Putin, there is no going back. Russia is under an unprecedented economic assault. The country is now economically free-falling as they are almost cut off from the world. Russia’s stock market – closed all week will be shut for a large part of next week. Russia’s state Duma has just passed legislation outlawing ‘false information about the military.” The Ruble has collapsed, people queue at banks and international corporations are pulling their services by the minute. Oligarchs are having their assets seized and are being thrown out of the West. The entirety of Russian life is going to decline.

At some point, all of this will become unacceptable to the Russian people – and of course, to those closer to the heart of Putin and his cronies. Are we starting to see that spark with the FSB?

 

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