A plot to kill Vladimir Putin by a group of Ukrainian assassins was uncovered by a joint operation of Ukrainian and Russian intelligence services, according to Russian news sources. The Russian leader is in the middle of a campaign to lock up a six-year term as the country’s president. While the thwarted plot was revealed by Russian media only on Monday, the arrests of the would-be assassins seem to have taken place either Jan. 4 or Feb. 4, after Ukrainian police were tipped off by an explosion in the plotters’ Odessa apartment. The assassination attempt was confirmed by a spokesman for Putin, who is currently Russia’s prime minister, on Monday.
