Elite Russian and Ukrainian security forces arrested a group of suspects and charged them with plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, according to Russian media reports.
The suspects, linked to a Chechen rebel leader, planned to kill Putin in Moscow following next Sunday’s presidential vote, the news reports said. Putin is a huge favorite to reclaim the presidency.
The arrests reportedly took place in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odessa. The case broke after the plotters set off an accidental explosion in early January while they were attempting to make explosives at a rented apartment, according to reports.
Some Russian analysts were skeptical of the reported assassination plot, suggesting it was timed to divert attention from a growing street protest against Putin in recent weeks.
Putin’s spokesman confirmed the report to the ITAR-TASS news agency, but refused further comment.
The Ukrainian Security Service had said it detained three Russian citizens on terrorist charges in Odessa on Feb. 4, but it wasn’t clear whether those men were among those said to be plotting Putin’s assassination.
