A prominent Kremlin critic has been shot dead in broad daylight in Warsaw. Polish authorities confirm the victim is a 54-year-old former Russian intelligence officer turned dissident. He was gunned down outside his apartment block, three rounds to the chest.
Execution style. The handgun was found nearby. No fingerprints.
Typical. MI6 is already on the ground. They know the playbook.
This is the long arm of the Kremlin. And it stretches far. Sources inside Thames House tell me there is an active investigation.
But they are tight-lipped. They are tracking known suspects. But these ghosts have diplomatic cover.
The Poles are furious. The Foreign Office has issued a statement: “We condemn this brazen act of violence on NATO soil.” But that is for public consumption.
Behind closed doors, the mood is grim. This is not the first. Litvinenko.
Skripal. Now Warsaw. The pattern is clear.
Putin’s Russia does not forgive. Does not forget. The dissident was vocal about the war in Ukraine.
He leaked documents exposing Kremlin corruption. He was a liability. And now he is a martyr.
The political fallout will be massive. Expect calls for mass expulsions of Russian diplomats. Expect tougher sanctions.
But the game remains the same. This is a signal. A warning to any other defector who thinks they are safe.
No one is safe. The long arm of the Kremlin is unbroken.
