Assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin survives: Report

This comes a week after a number of Russian legislators called on Vladimir Putin to step down due to Russia’s military defeat in Ukraine.

An assassination attempt on Russian President Vladimir Putin has been thwarted, according to a report in Euro Weekly News. It stated that the details were made public on Wednesday on the General GVR Telegram channel. The site did however add that the exact time of the attempt is unknown. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year, there have been persistent rumours about Mr. Putin’s health and potential for death. In 2017, the Russian President officially acknowledged that he had escaped at least five murder attempts.

According to the Telegram channel account, Mr. Putin’s limousine’s left front wheel was struck by a loud bang, Euro Weekly stated, adding that the vehicle was immediately moved to safety even as smoke began to flow from it.

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The event did not result in any injuries to the Russian President, but the publication reported that several arrests had been made.

According to news.co.au and other media agencies that covered the incident, Mr. Putin was returning to his official residence in a decoy convoy because of security concerns.

“On the way to the residence, a few kilometres away, the first escort car was blocked by an ambulance, the second escort car drove around without stopping (due to the) sudden obstacle, and during the detour of the obstacle,” according to an update on posted on channel as reported by the outlet.

This comes a week after a group of St. Petersburg MPs urged the State Duma to accuse Mr. Putin of treason and remove him from office, citing a number of factors including Russia’s military losses in Ukraine and the harm caused by Western sanctions to its economy.

Another local delegate reported that a petition she released on Monday demanding for Putin’s resignation had received 65 signatures from municipal representatives in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and a number of other locations.