‘I saw a red dot’: The opponents of Russia facing death threats across Europe

NewsWorldEurope‘I saw a red dot’: The opponents of Russia facing death threats across EuropePutin has long faced accusations of silencing its enemies abroadEmma Burrows & John LeicesterThursday 07 May 2026 07:13 BSTBookmarkBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":false,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"CF1:2971965To1","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/putin-kills-opponents-euope-russia-b2971997.html","title":"‘I saw a red dot’: The opponents of Russia facing death threats across Europe "}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-1927","index":0}Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library, in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, Pool, File) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.indepen...