Amidst a war in Ukraine, and an impending meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Samarkand, rumours have emerged claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin has survived an assassination attempt.
General GVR Telegram channel claims that a "Kremlin Insider" told them that the left front wheel of Putin’s car was hit by a loud bang. Smoke quickly followed but the car was driven to safety.
“On the way to the residence, a few kilometres away, the first escort car was blocked by an ambulance, [and] the second escort car drove around without stopping [due to the] sudden obstacle, and during the detour of the obstacle,” the channel said.
They claimed that Putin was left uninjured in the incident, adding that Russian security services made a number of arrests related to the incident. Claiming that Putin's movements were compromised by insiders, and that some of those arrested included his body guards.
Claiming that Putin is growing increasingly paranoid over threats to his life given Russia's abysmal performance in the war against Ukraine, the channel reported that Putin regularly uses decoy motorcade to increase his security.
The news channel said it could not verify the claim, nor confirm where it occured.
It should be noted that Russia is a police-state, and journalists are routinely harrased, threatened, and even killed in the country, allegedly by the state's own security services. Independent journalism is virtually nonexistent in the country, and the media freedom situation has only gotten worse since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
Thus, all reports coming out of Russia have to be taken with a grain of salt. However, discontent in Russia with Putin's leadership is growing: A petition calling for Putin to resign has been circulating in Russia since Monday, with dozens of local politicians risking prison sentences to sign it.
The petition, signed initially by 19 local Russian elected officials and published on Monday, contains a brief text that condemns Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and demands that he step down.
"We, the municipal deputies of Russia, believe that the actions of President Vladimir Putin are harming the future of the country and its citizens. We demand the resignation of Vladimir Putin from the post of president of the Russian Federation," states the petition, which has been circulated widely on social networks and been picked up by several media outlets.
