Former Russian TV Journalist says Putin doesn’t have enough Novichok to kill all his critics

The former TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova who hit the headlines last year for criticising Putin against the war in Ukraine has again targeted the Russian president.

Speaking to Beth Rigny Interviews she claimed that Putin doesn’t have enough of the poison Novichok to kill his growing number of critics.

Novichok is a military-grade nerve agent and was used to attack the Russian politician, Alexei Navalny in 2020 and in the poisonings that killed Dawn Sturgess in Salisbury in 2018.

During the interview, Ms Ovsyannikova said “I think Putin doesn’t have enough Novichok for all his opponents. Because actually when the war started, many more people started speaking against the regime and many more will do that.”

“I think Ukraine will start winning the war and then this will just divide the elites.”

“Look what’s happening now…what Prigozhin is saying. Prigozhin is speaking up. And then (Ramzan) Kadyrov is also saying something else. And I hope the system will break up from the inside.”

The former journalist was referring to the recent criticism of Putin, the Wagner mercenary group leader, Yevengy Prigozhin and the Head of the Chechen Republic and colonel-general in the Russian military, Ramzan Kadyrov who has criticised the performance of the Russian forces in Ukraine.

She was asked if it could be the elites of Russia that will overthrow Putin, but she thought not. She said that as the opposition leader Alexei Nanalny is in prison there wasn’t anyone who could consolidate the people.

She went on to say that Russian people feel intimidated and there is nothing that will make them take to the streets. “The police are everywhere, and you just raise your head from the ground and your life will be upended.” She said.