Russian intelligence introduced the chemical dioxin into Viktor Yushchenko’s food in 2004, American intelligence believes.
American intelligence has partially declassified a report that talks about the killings of political opponents of Russian leader Vladimir Putin by Russian intelligence services. The report also mentions the poisoning of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. Bloomberg writes about it.
For the first time, the US national intelligence released a document about the murders of Putin’s political opponents abroad. The report called Kremlin-ordered killings abroad likely to continue. US intelligence prepared it for Congress in 2016. The document lists assassinations carried out by Russian intelligence services abroad from January 1, 2000 to July 2016.
The document lists several similar murders. Intelligence believes that Russian special services were involved in them, and that Putin personally authorized them. The Kremlin is targeting “political and opposition leaders in key former Soviet republics who are considered a threat.”
The report points out that a prime example is former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who suffered near-fatal poisoning in 2004.
“His supporters concluded that Russian intelligence had introduced the chemical dioxin into his food while he was a presidential candidate advocating Ukraine’s integration with the West,” the document said.
American intelligence officials have released details of four high-profile murders. The former leader of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, who was killed in 2004 in Qatar. In 2006, former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium in London. In 2012, Russian businessman Alexander Perepelichny died in the UK. In 2015, a Luhansk militant, the so-called “Minister of Defense of the LPR” Alexander Bednov, was killed.
The report also indicates that Putin may have given Ramzan Kadyrov permission to kill Chechens abroad on his own.
The US National Intelligence document states that Moscow systematically uses intelligence agencies to eliminate what it considers threats to its regime. According to intelligence experts, it is highly likely that such killings will continue.
Let’s recall that in October 2024 it became known that the pre-trial investigation into the poisoning of Yushchenko during the election campaign was ongoing.
Yushchenko starred in a comedian’s video about a charity fundraiser
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.