Putin accused Western special services of involvement in the explosions in Ukraine and the Russian Federation

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that in the preparation, as he put it, of sabotage and terrorist attacks on the territory of Russia and on the territories of Ukraine controlled by Russia, “the potential of third countries, Western special services, is involved.”

Putin did not provide evidence for this statement, he said that “there are all reasons to assert” that this is exactly the case. According to Putin, “terrorist attacks are regularly carried out against representatives of the authorities and law enforcement agencies, journalists, and public figures.” He did not give specific examples.

Putin spoke at a meeting of the Security Council of Russia, dedicated to ensuring security in the territories of Ukraine, the annexation of which was announced by Russia last September. Putin called the situation there “complicated”, called on law enforcement officers to “do their best” to ensure safety. Moscow-appointed heads of Russian administrations of four regions participated in the meeting.

In the occupied parts of Zaporozhye, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in addition to active hostilities, explosions or armed attacks in the Russian rear occur from time to time. As a rule, we are talking about attempts on employees of Russian-appointed administrations or Russian law enforcement agencies. Officially, the authorities of Ukraine do not comment on these cases or declare that it is the activity of pro-Ukrainian partisans.

In the evening of April 2, an explosion occurred in a cafe in St. Petersburg, resulting in the death of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. The Russian investigation is investigating the explosion based on an article about a terrorist attack, claiming that some persons from Kyiv were involved in it. Ukraine denies this. Representatives of Western countries previously also denied any involvement in planning sabotage.

Putin also called for speeding up the so-called integration of the occupied territories, speeding up the pace of reconstruction of cities destroyed during hostilities.

Ukrainian military and government representatives have repeatedly stated that Kyiv intends to regain control over the territories currently occupied by Russia. With these goals, preparations are being made for a large-scale offensive by the Ukrainian army. The timing of its initiation and the direction of the main strike are kept secret. Last year, Ukraine already regained control over territories annexed by Russia – in particular, Kherson and part of the Kherson and Donetsk regions.