Declassified Intelligence Underscores Russia’s Suspected Targeting of Putin Critics Abroad

Allegations of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s systematic assassination of his opponents in nations outside Russia were strengthened by a bombshell United States intelligence document declassified on November 23.

The document highlights the case of several high-profile Putin critics, including:

• Zelimkhan Yandarbighyev, former head of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, whose assassination was carried out in Qatar
• Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who was in a hotel in London when Putin’s agents tricked him into drinking tea laced with a fatal dose of Polonium-210
• Alexander Perepelichnyy, Oleksandr Bednov and several powerful pro-Russia figures in eastern Ukraine who were assassinated to boost Putin’s control of the region

The document was obtained by Bloomberg via the Freedom of Information Act. It was written by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in 2016. As such, it excludes mention of the more recent assassinations of notable Putin opponents.

Suspicions strengthened: This broader story is not new to Russia watchers. The number of Putin critics who have died by suspicious incidents such as polonium poisoning or “falling out of windows” has been far too high to be coincidence.

The newly declassified document corroborates what was previously suspicion. It marks the first time a credible intelligence report establishes Kremlin ties to such killings and Putin’s role in ordering them. It states:

We assess that Putin probably authorizes assassinations of high-profile figures abroad.

The Russian government will continue to use its intelligence services and other loyal entities to assassinate suspected terrorists as well as individuals abroad whom it deems as threats to … Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Our confidence level for this judgment is high, based on official Russian statements and the findings of foreign governments in countries where assassinations have taken place.

‘Friend of the devil’: The Trumpet has been keeping an eye on Putin’s ruthlessness and evil for many years. In a 2017 article, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote:

Putin … is not just an authoritarian leader. This is a man with beastly power and with a beastly desire to rule the world! He is a vengeful, monstrous friend of the devil with all sorts of anti-God policies. He is steeped in secrecy, deception, manipulation, aggression, intimidation, coercion and force, and there is far more about him that we do not know.

The newly published intelligence fills in some of what we didn’t know about Putin when that 2017 article was written, as do events from recent years in Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Syria and Ukraine.

Learn more: To understand more about Putin’s “anti-God policies,” read “Should Donald Trump Trust Vladimir Putin?”