KEY POINTS
- Exiled Russian politician Ilya Ponomarev said Putin could get a death sentence if he losses the war against Ukraine
- Ponomarev was exiled after he voted against the annexation of Crimea in 2014
- A Ukrainian intelligence agency said a group of Russian elites could be planning to overthrow Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin could die this year at the hands of his inner circle, according to a prediction made by politician Ilya Ponomarev.
During an interview on RN Breakfast, host Patricia Karvelas asked Ponomarev what he thought of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s sentencing Tuesday in which a court gave him another nine years in a high-security prison over allegations of fraud and breach of trust.
Ponomarev, an exiled Russian politician, said the court’s decision came as no surprise. However, he added that Navalny would unlikely serve his full sentence, adding that Putin will also unlikely be the president for that long.
“I’m pretty sure that Navalny would not sit that long because Putin would not sit that long in his office,” the politician said. “I think Putin will die this year. He started this war with Ukraine that he cannot win and losing the war means death sentence for him first. Somebody from the inner circle may pull the trigger, being tired from all the sanctions and humiliations and threats they are receiving.”
Ponomarev is well-known for being the only person to vote against the annexation of Crimea in 2014. He said he voted against the annexation because he believes it would lead to a split between Ukraine and Russia. He has since become an exile.
Ponomarev’s prediction about Putin’s death comes after the Chief Directorate of Intelligence for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Sunday said a group of Russian elites could be planning to remove the Russian president from his seat through poisoning or a “sudden illness.”
The Ukrainian intelligence agency also added that the Russian elites are eyeing Alexander Bortnikov, the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), to replace Putin as the president of the country.
It is unclear when, or if, the assassination would push through. The intelligence agency noted that the information came from Russian sources, which could suggest the FSB leadership’s attempt to establish cooperation with the Ukrainian government.
Russia has faced a barrage of economic sanctions since it launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Also, the Russian strategy in Ukraine has been marred by reports of low morale among troops, some of whom shot themselves using Ukrainian ammunition to get out of the battlefield.
