Russian Elites Planning To 'Remove Putin From Power' Through Possible Poisoning, Accident: Report

A group of Russian elites could be planning to overthrow President Vladimir Putin through poisoning, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

The Chief Directorate of Intelligence for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Sunday claimed a group of influential Russian business and political elites could use several methods, including poisoning or a “sudden illness” to remove Putin from power amid the invasion of Ukraine.

“Their goal is to remove Putin from power as soon as possible and restore economic ties with the West that were destroyed by the war in Ukraine,” the ministry wrote in a Facebook post.

The Ministry of Defense added that the elites plan to replace the Russian president with Alexander Bortnikov, the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Bortnikov has recently fallen out of favor with Putin over miscalculations in the invasion of Ukraine.

“Bortnikov and his department were responsible for analyzing the mood of the population of Ukraine and the capacity of the Ukrainian army,” the directorate said.

The directorate noted that the information about the possible assassination came from Russian sources, adding that it may be part of the FSB leadership’s attempt to establish cooperation with the Ukrainian government.

Russia has faced a range of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and other NATO allies following its invasion of Ukraine. Elvira Nabiullina, Russia’s central bank governor, predicted Friday that the country’s economy would decline in the coming quarters. She also warned that inflation would jump further.

Citing Reuters, the New York Times reported that as of March 11, annual inflation in Russia had increased 12.5% from a year earlier, the country’s highest since late 2015.

In addition, the ruble has lost about 30% of its value against the U.S. dollar since the start of the year. The ruble fell 2.5% against the euro.

Since the invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, over 120 multinational companies have severed their ties with Russia. Several luxury brands also pulled out their products from the shelves of malls in the country.

Russia’s economy could fall further as EU leaders consider joining the U.S. in cutting the importation of Russian natural gas use and Russian oil. Russia is the world’s second-biggest exporter of oil.