Ukrainian special services were preparing a strike against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense Andrei Belousov during the parade in St. Petersburg dedicated to Navy Day. This was reported by the Kiev military portal "Militarny".

According to the portal, the attack was planned for July 28, when ceremonial events dedicated to Russian Navy Day were taking place in St. Petersburg. It was planned that the blow would be delivered to the podium where Putin and Belousov were supposed to be. However, a few days before the scheduled date, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov contacted US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to convince the Ukrainian side to abandon their intentions.

Russian authorities have not yet officially commented on this information, however, information about the planned attack caused a wide resonance both in Russia and abroad. Experts note that such plans could seriously aggravate already tense relations between Russia and Ukraine.

For their part, representatives of the Ukrainian special services do not confirm or deny information about the impending attack. Kyiv officials have also so far refrained from commenting on this matter.