Russian former politicians and activists have reportedly been meeting in Poland, discussing ways to remove President Vladimir Putin from power – including “physically eliminating” him.
The council has discussed various means to spark a regime change, including a civil war in Russia and assassinating Putin, according to the European media network Euractiv.
“The main goal is to physically eliminate Putin,” activist Viacheslav Maltsev said.
Maltsev fled Russia in 2017 after being designated an extremist by the state. He says a civil war would not be “as bloody as the war in Ukraine.”
A former Russian politician, who was not named, said “the fight against terrorists requires terrorist methods.”
The meeting between the activists and former Russian politicians occurred in Jablonna outside the Polish capital of Warsaw this past weekend. It was said to have been arranged by Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of Russia’s State Duma. They have claimed to have organized the resistance in recent months, according to Gazeta Wyborcza.
Participants argued to seize Putin alive and hand him over to the international courts to face war-crime charges.
Putin has faced criticism from army conscripts, local politicians in Moscow and St. Petersburg and even former allies who have denounced the war in Ukraine.
The war is now in its ninth month, and Russian forces have struggled to make territorial gains, despite formally annexing four Ukrainian regions and attacking the country’s vital infrastructure.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported Tuesday more than 77,000 Russian soldiers had been killed since Feb 24.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials have ruled out any negotiation with Russia as long as Putin is in control.
“Negotiating with Putin would mean giving up, and we would never give him this gift,” said Zelenskyy aide Mykhailo Podolyak in an interview with Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper.
Podolyak said discussion would be possible only after Russian forces leave Ukrainian territory.
“We have no choice. Russia has invaded us with mobile crematoria and half a million body bags,” he said. “If we stop defending ourselves, we will cease to exist.”
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The Wall Street Journal reported White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held talks with Russian officials to reduce escalation of the conflict. Although, the White House stated it would not make diplomatic moves about Ukraine without Kyiv’s involvement.
“We reserve the right to speak directly at senior levels about issues of concern to the United States. That has happened over the course of the past few months. Our conversations have focused only on … risk reduction and the U,S,-Russian relationship,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre aid.
Moscow maintains it is open to talks, but Kyiv has refused any discussion, repeatedly stating it would not negotiate over territory claims through the annex.
According to Britain’s Ministry of Defense, Russia is preparing new fortified lines inside controlled territory “to forestall any rapid Ukrainian advances in the event of breakthroughs.”
Ukrainian forces have ramped up their reserves to 300,000 over the past month, taking to the offensive against Russian-defended areas.
The next big battle is anticipated on the west bank of the Dnipro River, including Kherson city, the only regional city captured by Russia since the invasion in February.
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