A guard at one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences in occupied Crimea has fled to Ecuador, calling the Kremlin leader a war criminal.
Vitaly Brizhaty, who worked on the Ukrainian peninsula for the Federal Protection Service (FSO), the Kremlin’s bodyguard agency, told Dozhd TV in an interview that he opposed the war in Ukraine.
Brizhaty is the second member of the FSO to flee and publicly criticize the president over the invasion of Ukraine.
Brizhaty worked at Olivye, one of Putin’s two palaces in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. RFE/RL’s Crimea.Realities revealed the massive palace in Olivye in a 2021 report.
I hope that bodyguard is well hidden! This guy must have REALLY HATED working for Putin if he was willing to flee and risk being murdered in retaliation.
Hopefully he’s not actually in Ecuador. I mean, if we know the country, Russia probably knows the neighborhood.
I’m sure the CIA would like to get his hands on him as well to get some first hand info.
I suspect the Kremlin’s intelligence services are a little too busy to hunt this guy down.
Putin’s ego would likely make him redirect some of those resources to “investigate” the ex-guard’s “suicide”.
Ego and fear of dissenters. Probably keen to make an example of everyone he can to avoid more following.
I doubt he is in Ecuador. That’s just a bluff for people going after him.