Plot to assassinate Putin linked to Chechen rebels

Security forces have uncovered a plot to assassinate Russia’s Vladimir Putin and have arrested suspects linked to a Chechen rebel leader known for other terror attacks, Russian state television reported yesterday.

The report, which included televised confessions by two suspects, is likely to boost support for Putin as he seeks his third term as president in an election on Sunday. Putin has portrayed himself as a strong protector of Russia’s national interests and has counted the victory over Chechen separatist rebels as one of the key achievements of his rule. The report casting him as a target for terrorists could draw public sympathy and help secure his victory.

Putin, who was Russia’s president from 2000 to 2008 and prime minister since then, is running for a third, now six-year presidential term. He is expected to win easily against four Kremlin-approved challengers, but an unprecedented wave of protests since December has undermined his image as a strong, popular leader.

Channel One said the suspects, acting on instructions from Chechen warlord Doku Umarov, were preparing to kill Putin in Moscow immediately after Sunday’s election. It said the suspects were arrested in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odessa after an accidental explosion on January 4 while they were trying to manufacture explosives at a rented apartment.

The Ukrainian Security Service said this month it had detained a man sought by Russian authorities on charges of terrorism and two of his accomplices in Odessa on Feb 4, but said nothing at the time about an anti-Putin plot. Its spokeswoman, Marina Ostapenko, said yesterday that the announcement in Moscow came only now because the Russian special service was conducting its own investigation. She confirmed the main suspect was involved in a plot to kill Putin, but didn’t elaborate.

Umarov, whose whereabouts are unknown, has not responded to the claim.

Channel One said two of the alleged members of the group arrived in Ukraine from the United Arab Emirates via Turkey with instructions from Umarov, the top military leader for the Chechen rebels. One of them, a Chechen, was killed during the accidental explosion in Odessa and another one, Kazakhstan citizen Ilya Pyanzin, was wounded in the blast and arrested.

Pyanzin led the investigators to their contact in Odessa, Adam Osmayev, a Chechen who previously had lived in London and had been sought by Russia since 2007, the report said. The TV station showed footage of Osmayev’s arrest in Odessa with black-clad special troops bursting in and a half-naked, bloodied Osmayev on his knees, his head bowed down.

Speaking to Channel One from custody in Ukraine, Osmayev described the group’s mission: “Our goal was to go to Moscow and try to kill prime minister Putin . . . Our deadline was after the Russian presidential election.”

Pyanzin, who also confessed on film, was shown saying the group were to sabotage economic facilities and then try to kill Putin.