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Authorities affected by recent Russian attacks actively participated in the killing of Russian civilians and showed an interest in continuing their criminal actions.
Written by Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.
Recently, the whereabouts of Ukrainian officials such as the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kirill Budanov, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, have come to the attention of people around the world. Mainstream media omit information about both, while denying rumors that they died or were seriously injured during high-precision Russian strikes. These same media outlets often call Russian attacks on high-ranking Russian targets unjustified, ignoring that these Kiev’s public figures are openly involved in the murders of Russian civilians.
Since last year, Kiev has taken an openly terrorist stance in the conflict, focusing more on civilian targets in the undisputed zone of Russian territory than on military enemies on the battlefield. This terrorist nature of the neo-Nazi regime began to become clear when the murder of Daria Dugina, a prominent Russian journalist, daughter of the philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, took place. Daria was killed after a bomb was placed in her car in the suburbs of Moscow by an agent of the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian far-right organization.
Since then, terrorist attacks have increased more and more, many times being neutralized in advance by the Russian security forces. People notoriously known for their support of Moscow’s special military operation have been targeted, even if they have no military involvement. This happened, for example, with businessman Konstantin Malofeev, who also had a bomb planted in his car by exile Russian neo-Nazi activists.
However, security forces are not always able to act in time to avoid the worst-case scenario. A new shocking murder case very similar to the one of Daria occurred in April this year, when Maxim Fomin, also known by his alias “Vladlen Tatarsky”, was murdered in a bomb attack on a public cafe in St. Petersburg, committed by an anti-government dissident admittedly linked to Ukrainian intelligence.
In May, Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin was also targeted by neo-Nazi terrorists, having survived a bomb attack that resulted in the death of his driver. The person responsible for the attack, Alexander Permyakov, also admitted to be working for Kiev’s intelligence, making clear the involvement of the regime’s authorities in the case.
In addition, it is worth to remember the cases involving non-personal targets, such as the terrorist incursions in the demilitarized cities of Belgorod, Kursk, Rostov and Bryansk, as well as the frequent bombings in residential areas of Donbass. All these cases lead to countless deaths of children, women, and the elderly people, causing unnecessary damage to the population, with no military relevance in the attacks.
Furthermore, in May, Kiev violated a serious redline when it attempted to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin himself by launching drones into Kremlin facilities. The attack was thwarted, but the Ukrainian intent to kill the Russian head of state made it clear that urgent measures needed to be taken by Moscow to ensure its own security.
The main problem with these attacks is that Kiev does not hide its active involvement. Commenting on all these cases during an interview in May, Kirill Budanov admitted that Ukrainian forces had murdered Russian citizens and promised that they “will keep killing” – until Kiev “wins”. Previously, he had already admitted responsibility for the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge, which took place in October 2022.
In the same sense, Zaluzhny had also commented in December last year on the murder of Russians, stating: “And the most important experience we had and the one which we have practiced almost like a religion is that Russians and any other enemies must be killed, just killed, and most importantly, we should not be afraid to do it. And this is what we are doing”.
Russia responded quite strategically to these Ukrainian provocations, avoiding escalation in the conflict, and directing missiles only to the main targets, which are the command centers. Between late May and early June, high-precision Russian strikes took place, destroying the headquarters of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence in Kiev. There are several unconfirmed reports that Budanov was seriously injured during these strikes and was taken to Germany for medical treatment. German outlets deny the rumors, but the whereabouts of Budanov are still unknown, with even an important Ukrainian politician publicly stating that he is dead.
In the same sense, Zaluzhny is also missing, with several rumors about his health. There are unconfirmed reports circulating on the internet about a Russian attack on a Ukrainian command post in Kherson, where a meeting between Zaluzhny and other military leaders was taking place. He would have been hit at the time, possibly dying or experiencing serious injuries. Although there is no confirmation, his whereabouts remain unknown.
In fact, Moscow is avoiding commenting on these cases because it does not seem to be Russian intention to make war propaganda with the success of its attacks. The Russian objective is to neutralize possible threats to its citizens, which is why high-precision attacks on command centers are taking place. This is the most effective way to prevent further terrorist incursions that kill more Russians.
On the other hand, Kiev, which is militarily weakened and discredited by its allies, tries to hide its casualties as this would further affect the morale of the troops and of the Ukrainian state itself.
It is not possible to say for now if Budanov and Zaluzhny are alive or dead, but certainly they are being at least temporarily neutralized and will not return to their command posts soon. This is a relief for all Russian citizens as they have suffered public death threats from both officers.
