Russian TV reports thwarted attempt on Putin's life; other candidates question timing

MOSCOW — Russian television reported Monday that the Ukrainian and Russian intelligence services had worked together over many weeks to thwart an assassination attempt on the Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin.

Other candidates questioned the timing of the report, which comes just days before Sunday’s presidential election and as Putin and his United Russia party face unprecedented protests following a scandal-marred parliamentary election in December.

The Communist Party candidate called the assassination report a “cheap trick.” Others noted that two suspects were arrested weeks ago.

Putin, the dominant figure in Russian politics, is widely expected to return to the presidency, which he held for two terms before becoming prime minister in 2008.

The report by the government-controlled broadcaster, Channel One, said the two suspects were arrested in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, after surviving an explosion inside an apartment there Jan. 4. A third man died in the blast, which occurred while the suspects were mixing chemicals for an explosive device, according to the report.

Authorities said the three men had been dispatched to the city by the Chechen terrorist leader Doku Umarov, Channel One reported.

One of the suspects, Ilya Pyanzin, was arrested immediately after the explosion, according to the report, and the second suspect, Adam Osmayev, was arrested a month later, Feb. 4.

“We were told to first go to Odessa and study how to prepare a bomb,” Pyanzin told the authorities. “In Moscow we were to sabotage economic sites — and then assassinate Putin.”

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed Monday that an assassination attempt had been in the works, as did a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Security Service.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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