Vladimir Putin is on the verge of being assassinated, according to reports

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been determined to suppress opposition in his country. In recent weeks, police in Russian cities have cracked down on protests, and the Kremlin’s version of events has been widely disseminated in the media. Putin also used a speech to criticise Russians who opposed the invasion. He referred to war opponents as “scum” and “traitors.”

“The Russian people will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like an insect in their mouth onto the pavement,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Opposition to Mr Putin appears to be growing in high places, as Russia Expert at Chatham House Nikolai Petrov made an unexpected claim that Putin could be assassinated.

He also claimed that a member of the Russian President’s own family could be plotting to assassinate him.

“I believe that if there is an assassination attempt, it will come from a female,” Mr Petrov said.

“Perhaps a member of his family, his mistress, his daughter, his ex-wife – someone who knows him and has a chance of getting close to him.”

“The likelihood (of assassination) is growing.”

According to Russia expert Fiona Hill, recent events have made Putin fearful for his political future as well as his life.

According to a former US National Security Council official, Putin is “paranoid” about a possible assassination attempt.

“Any loose talk about somebody taking him out, regime change – he believes we’re in that business anyway,” she said.

“He looks at what the US has done – and he says it openly – in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other places where we’ve intervened, and he thinks, I’m not going to let that happen here in Russia. He’s extremely concerned about this.”

This week, Vladimir Osechkin, a man wanted for his work exposing abuse in Russia’s prisons, claimed that he spoke with a source within the Russian security service, the FSB, who claims that there is discontent within the organisation.

Mr. Osechkin claims that Putin blames FSB officers for the botched operation as Russian forces struggle to make progress on the ground in Ukraine.

Mr Osechkin told The Times: “For every week and month that this war continues, the possibility of a rebellion by those in the security services grows.”

The Russian President appears to be planning to scale back his army’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following a series of setbacks for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops, Moscow declared that the “special military operation” would now focus on the “main goal, the liberation of Donbas.”

Donbas is an eastern Ukrainian region that Russia has now recognised as an independent republic.

According to reports, Ukrainian soldiers are driving the Russians further away from the capital, Kyiv.

According to Western intelligence, a Russian brigade commander, Colonel Medvechek, was deliberately run down and killed by his own troops.

Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun told Express.co.uk earlier this month that Russian forces were struggling to make progress near Kyiv, where she remains.

She urged the West to intervene and provide more military support, saying, “Ukraine’s army has been kicking their a***, the Russian army is not as strong as it should be, they are poorly equipped, and morale is low.”

“It is not a particularly powerful army, and in comparison to NATO armies, I do not believe Russia can compete.

“I’m aware of the nuclear threat that everyone is talking about, but I believe it’s exaggerated.

“After all, there are some less insane people in Putin’s immediate vicinity who will not allow this to happen. Some Russian intelligence officers are passing information to the West and Ukraine.”