Russian President Vladimir Putin survived an assassination attempt not long after he invaded Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian intelligence official.
Head of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Major-General Kyrylo Budanov said there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Putin two months ago.
"He was even attacked in the line of, as they say, representatives of the Caucasus not so long ago. This is non-public information," Maj Gen Budanov told the local media outlet Ukrayinska Pravda.
"Absolutely unsuccessful attempt, but it really took place… It was about two months ago.
"Once again, he was unsuccessful. There is no publicity about this event, but it took place."
Maj Gen Budanov claims the attempted assassination came from Caucasus representatives, rather than Ukrainians.
The Caucasus is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea that mainly comprises of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia.
This is not the first time Maj Gen Budanov has publicly spoken on the removal of the Russian President.
A couple of weeks ago he said he was optimistic about defeating Russia and claimed a coup effort is already underway to remove Putin.
"It will eventually lead to the change of leadership of the Russian Federation," Maj Gen Budanov said. "This process has already been launched."
He believes the war will be over by the end of the year.
It has been three months since Russia launched a full-scale assault in Ukraine. Thousands of civilians have been killed and millions of Ukrainians have fled the country.
Russia has captured the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and now focuses its military efforts on capturing the Donbas region. Despite pouring its forces into the area and launching massive artillery bombardments, it has made only small territorial gains, meanwhile losing territory in a Ukrainian counter-attack further north around Kharkiv.
