Putin Survived Assassination Attempt By Caucasus Representatives

Russian President Vladimir Putin survived an assassination attempt earlier this year following his country's invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence officials.

"Representatives of the Caucasus" had "attacked" the Russian head of state about two months ago in an attempt to assassinate him, Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, told Ukrainska Pravda in an interview.

The Caucasus is a region between the Black and Caspian seas comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and parts of southern Russia.

Budanov did not reveal any additional details about the "absolutely unsuccessful" assassination attempt against Putin, but the 36-year-old intelligence chief insisted it "really happened."

"I repeat, this attempt was unsuccessful. There was no publicity about this event, but it took place," Budanov said.

International Business Times could not independently verify the information.

The full interview will be released Tuesday, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

Discounting the most recent attack, Putin revealed to director Oliver Stone in "The Putin Interviews" in 2017 that he's survived at least five assassination attempts. But the 69-year-old Russian leader claimed he wasn't worried about his safety.

A coup to remove Putin has already begun, Budanov told Sky News nearly two weeks ago.

"They are moving in this way and it is impossible to stop it," said the Ukrainian intelligence head, who also claimed that Putin currently has cancer and other illnesses.

"[Putin is in a] very bad psychological and physical condition, and he is very sick," Budanov said.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 to "denazify" its western neighbor. However, the current Ukrainian government is neither a fascist dictatorship nor is it in any way associated with the Nazis.

The ongoing conflict has resulted in 29,050 combat losses among Russian personnel as of Sunday, Ukraine's Defense Ministry claimed in its most recent casualty report.

It has also caused the deaths of at least 8,462 civilians in Ukraine, according to data provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Ukraine is now investigating around 13,000 cases of alleged Russian war crimes from the conflict, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said Monday.

On the same day, a Ukrainian court sentenced a captured Russian soldier to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to killing a civilian in Ukraine's first war crimes trial, Associated Press reported.