No, the US was not going to assassinate Putin
In an interview with TASS — a Russian government-owned news agency — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov advised the United States against an alleged “decapitation strike” on Vladimir Putin.
Lavrov’s interview comments are in response to a previous Newsweek post in which an alleged US military member — who is not yet to be identified — claimed that the Pentagon has had a plan “front and center” that would allow the US to strike and assassinate Putin inside of the Kremlin.
(For those who do not know, the Kremlin is a major historical and cultural complex in the center of Moscow. It is the official residency of the President).
Read more about Lavrov’s claims here.
Lavrov also warned viewers that if such an attack were to be carried out, there would be a Russian response.
The rhetoric here from Lavrov is very odd, but not unusual for the propagandist media outlet TASS. These statements come at a particularly interesting time, which is what makes them so interesting.
Lavrov claimed that the US and NATO are assisting Ukraine in order to destroy Russia. Rhetoric like this is, while unusual, tactfully used. It is a clever way for Lavrov and Russia to build their anti-West, pro-war narrative at a time that, frankly, Russia is struggling.
One reason we can interpret this as a propaganda ploy — aside from the outlandish nature of the claim itself — is that Lavrov’s interview comes not long after another interesting revelation. Specifically, the allegation that the US withheld intelligence on the movements of Russian General Shoigu that could have allowed Ukraine to strike him and his convey with missiles or artillery.
Some rumors persisted that the US thought such an action would be an unnecessary and crude act of escalation. Some pundits on Twitter, from what I gathered, thought the US may want Shoigu running the show, as it Russia’s current performance is a failing one.
Regardless, it really begs the question, if the US would not assassinate a top general through proxy, why on Earth would they assassinate Putin? The second question to follow such speculation would be ‘by what means?’
While it is likely the US government do have such plans developed for extreme, escalatory situations (CONPLANs), the reality of willingness and feasibility is something different entirely; a facet that Lavrov seemed more than willing to leave out.
What do you think? Was Lavrov’s interview just more bullsh*t propaganda cooked up with the help of TASS news? Let me know in the comments below.
