Reporting an Assassination Attempt

"[Le Monde] wants to stress that none of its journalists are in Ukraine at the moment and that its staff does not include an Alex Werner."
"Le Monde firmly condemns any impersonation of its journalists or of its title, for whatever purpose."
Le Monde, French newspaper

"What is important is we have proof Russia is committing terrorist acts."
"His tongue [Alex Werner, aka Artur Denisultanov-Kurmakayev] may loosen to say who sent him here and why."
Anton Gerashenko, Ukrainian lawmaker

"He was elegant, calm and confident."
"Putin is personally interested in getting rid of us."
Amina Okuyeva, Ukrainian-Chechen fighter, sharpshooter

Amina Okuyeva and Adam Osmayev of the Dzhokhar Dudayev battalion. Kyiv, 2015. Photograph: Shaun Walker for the Guardian

He had installed himself as a reputable journalist working for a well-respected French newspaper. And he had become a familiar figure in Kiev. He had made important contacts with politicians and with anti-Russian activists in the year he lived in the Ukrainian capital. Ms. Okuyeva, who was occasionally in his company noticed that though he carried a notebook when he interviewed her, nothing she ever said seemed to warrant his writing notes in that book for future reference as a reporter.

She and her husband with whom she served as a volunteer soldier in the Ukraine war against the eastern Ukrainian separatists, had been interviewed on a number of occasions by this tall, dapper man who spoke with a decided French accent. He always introduced himself as Alex Werner, reporting for the French newspaper Le Monde. Adam Osmayev, Ms. Okuyeva's husband, has been the commander of a unit of ethnic Chechen fighters since 2015. With that unit, Ms. Okuyeva is a sniper.

The Russian government accused Mr. Osmayev of having plotted to assassinate President Putin back in 2012 when he was then prime minister. Mr. Osmayev had been arrested but his extradition to Russia had been blocked by the European Court of Human Rights. He was released from custody after the Ukrainian revolution in 2014, when he joined the fight against the ethnic Russian Ukrainians living in eastern Ukraine.

Under his guise as a French reporter, Mr. Werner requested the couple to drive him over to the French embassy. On the way he asked that they stop the car, then aimed a gun and opened fire on Mr. Osmayev, whose wife just happened to have a concealed weapon on her person. She drew her pistol and shot the intended assassin who had shot her husband. In the melee, both men were seriously wounded, but both survived.

The wounded attacker who posed as “journalist Alex Werner,” had a Ukrainian passport at the name of Oleksandr Dakar. His real name is allegedly Artur Kurmakaev, born Denisultanov. Photos: rbc.ua, fontanka.ru, rospress.com, rbc.ua

And now the Ukrainian SBU intelligence agency is prepared to interrogate the man identified as Mr. Denisultanov-Kurmakayev, believing him to a Russian agent with the Russian intelligence services. Moscow authorized a campaign of targeted assassinations against those it identifies as "terrorists" threatening Russia. Ukrainian officials feel that this incident reflects Russian hybrid war actions, including assassinations.

This foiled attack represents the third high-profile killing or attempt at assassination taking place in Kiev that Ukrainian authorities attribute to Russian security services.