A gang of ex-lawmakers from Russia, referring to itself as a “shadow parliament,” has been organizing the assassination of senior leaders in Vladimir Putin’s government out of their headquarters in Warsaw.
The Times reports that this week in Warsaw, many expatriate MPs who had previously represented Russian people in the Duma met to discuss a seven-point plan for toppling Putin’s regime.
Led by anti-war Ukrainian MP Ilya Ponomarev, The Congress of People’s Deputies (CPD) has put up a “Victory Plan” that includes increased arms for Ukraine, more sanctions on Russia, and a campaign of targeted political assassinations that they want NATO to support.
According to the group, revolutionary action must be taken inside Russia, and the only way to bring about change is through force. They intend to offer this proposal at the NATO summit in Washington, DC, next month.
They say that using force against Putin’s assassins, financiers, and propagandists is morally acceptable as long as it complies with established military doctrine and is necessary to win the battle. The massive devastation that the Kremlin has already unleashed causes hundreds of Russians and countless Ukrainians—military and civilian—to perish on the front lines every day.
The 102 alleged members of the CPD, which was founded in November 2022, include several active Duma MPs who choose to stay nameless.
Though it poses as Russia’s official opposition, it is actually the political wing of the National Republican Army (NRA), an internal partisan organization in Russia, and the Freedom for Russia Legion, a military force with four battalions fighting in Ukraine.
Even though the Russian opposition is in disarray, a significant ally of the now-exiled dissident Alexei Navalny has vowed to “never give up” on resisting Vladimir Putin until Navalny’s goal is realized.
At the age of 47, Navalny passed suddenly in an Arctic jail cell in February.
Although Volkov insisted that there was “no one magic trick” to remove Putin, he advised the Western allies of Ukraine to arm the front lines more and avoid having any conversations with the Russian president.
