A suspected assassination plot against Vladimir Putin by Ukraine was halted after Russia's defence minister called his opposite number at the Pentagon, according to Moscow.
Russian intelligence allegedly had discovered a Kyiv covert operation to strike at the Navy Day parade in St Petersburg on July 28.
Such an attack would have plunged Russia and the US into an 'uncontrollable conflict', implying a nuclear World War Three, according to Russian state TV Rossiya 1, which interviewed Putin's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, who described the alleged plot as 'madness'.
The Navy Day parade was attended by dictator Putin, 71, and his defence minister Andrei Belousov, 65.
The suspicion in Moscow based on the 'intelligence' Russia had obtained was that Ukraine was seeking to assassinate both men.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov at 28 July 2024 annual Navy Day parade in St Petersburg, Russia
A suspected assassination plot against Vladimir Putin by Ukraine was halted after Russia 's defence minister called his opposite number at the Pentagon , according to Moscow. Pictured:Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Defence Minister Andrei Belousov at 28 July 2024 annual Navy Day parade in St Petersburg, Russia
Putin and Belousov attend Navy Day parade on July 28. Moscow claims that intelligence' obtained indicated that Ukraine was seeking to assassinate both men
Sixteen days before the parade, Belousov called US defence secretary Lloyd Austin for a 'genuinely tough conversation', said TV propagandist Olga Skabeeva.
'Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov called the Pentagon himself for the first time, and he said something that made US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin squirm.
'If Kyiv's operation had happened, it would have guaranteed to plunge Russia and the USA into a phase of uncontrollable conflict.'
Russia evidently believed that the US was aware of the attack plot and feared it was involved in it - which Pentagon officials have denied.
But according to Ryabkov calls were made to Ukraine, stopping a covert operation on the Navy Day parade, which Putin and Belousov later attended without incident.
Image shows members of Russian Navy during Navy Day parade on July 28
Sixteen days before the parade, Belousov says he called US defence secretary Lloyd Austin for a 'genuinely tough conversation'
Russia evidently believed that the US was aware of the attack plot and feared it was involved in it - which Pentagon officials have denied
Such an attack would have plunged Russia and the US into an 'uncontrollable conflict', implying a nuclear World War Three, according to Russian state TV Rossiya 1
Putin and Belousov pose on a boat at 28 July 2024 annual Navy Day parade
'The signal sent by the Russian side….not just to Washington, but to other capitals under Washington's control – was received,' said Ryabkov.
'We avoided a new escalation cycle.
'But that specific episode is very troubling…
'It was planned [by Ukraine]….to cause maximum damage and achieve the maximum media effect they needed.
'We got past that specific episode, thank God, which means that the signal from our military leadership and the defence minister to his American counterpart apparently had an effect.
Ryabkov did not specify what precisely was contained in the Russian intelligence, or the nature of the suspected strike plot.
'I don't want to go into details, but there was indeed a certain linkage with such events,' he said, referring to Navy Day.
'The details of the audacious action are currently a state secret,' said Skabeeva, also known as Putin's 'Iron Doll'.
'At the parade in St. Petersburg after the foiled provocation, Vladimir Putin made a statement that the whole world is discussing.'
She was referring to Putin's threat to implement 'mirror measures' if the US went ahead with plans to deploy long-range missiles in Germany from 2026, namely weapons that could hit the West in ten minutes.
At the time of the 12 July call, Moscow said Belousov and Austin had discussed 'the issue of preventing security threats and reducing the risk of possible escalation was discussed.'
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
The statement at the time did not outline a suspected Ukrainian covert mission.
A theory from Russian Telegram channel Win/Win is that an attack could have involved launching kamikaze sea drones from a neutral ship in the Baltic.
Russian military expert Dmitry Kornev said: 'Another possibility is a combined attack from both sea and air, which would be the most dangerous.
'Nothing happened publicly.
'No changes to the parade programme or regulations were noted by observers.
'The parade went entirely according to plan.
'If additional security measures were taken, they went unnoticed.
'We might thank Austin and Belousov for this, or perhaps someone is just playing this card now, which seems unlikely.
'Most likely, something was indeed planned and did not happen.
'An assassination attempt, even if unsuccessful, would have provoked a very sharp response, burning all bridges to potential negotiations and normalising the conflict, putting an end to any aspirations for peace in this situation.'
Respected Russian editor Alexei Venediktov said the Russians were concerned that a Ukrainian plot involved an assassination bid against Putin and his defence minister.
