The Russian equivalent of the Secret Service might have thwarted an assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
The U.K.’s Express, citing the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, reported that Russia’s Federal Protection Service uncovered a plot involving explosives planted under a bridge that Putin was expected to drive over in Moscow.
An explosive device was thought to have been placed in the bed of the Moskva River and set to detonate as Putin’s motorcade crossed the bridge.
It’s unknown if any explosives were found, but agents stopped a “suspicious barge” apparently suspected of planting a bomb, according to the Telegram channel.
Videos shared online purported to show the search for a device.
Trending:
Russia: Due to reports of a planned assassination, divers from the FSO (Putin’s Protective Service) dispatched to check for explosives underwater at the bridge near the Moscow Central World Trade Center today. Putin’s motorcade crosses this bridge when he goes to the Kremlin. pic.twitter.com/K3HQsjnsee
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) June 29, 2023
VChK-OGPU: in the morning the FSO was checking information about the preparation of an assassination attempt on Putin with the help of explosives at the bottom of the Moskva River, laid down from a barge. pic.twitter.com/JGwoCjaaG9
— Giorgi Revishvili (@revishvilig) June 29, 2023
The crew of the barge reportedly maintained they were simply there to repair the bridge.
Following a directive to move the barge due to the impending passage of the motorcade, divers were seen in the water.
The Federal Protection Service also “demanded to check the documents of all those present on the barge,” the Telegram channel reported.
This latest reported assassination attempt against Putin came a week after a march on Moscow by mercenaries from the Wagner group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin ended.
Prigozhin ordered thousands of his troops to converge on the Russian capital after he expressed dissatisfaction with Russia’s handling of its war against Ukraine.
Moscow negotiated a deal with the Wagner group that sent it into exile in neighboring Belarus.
Last month, Russian authorities said they had stopped an assassination attempt that targeted Putin at his residence in the Kremlin with a drone. Authorities blamed the alleged attack on Ukraine.
