By Jay Clemons From Newsmax

The personal limousine of Russian President Vladimir Putin recently was “attacked” in an incident that included a “loud bang” and “heavy smoke” emanating from the left front wheel of the vehicle, according to media reports.

There’s also speculation that the apparent attack was an assassination attempt on Putin, perhaps involving events from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Via Russia’s SVR Telegram channel, a number of arrests have been made from the incident. Also, some of Putin’s bodyguards have “vanished,” according to SVR.

Putin, who reportedly escaped the situation unharmed, had been traveling back to his official residence in a decoy or backup motorcade, amid deep security fears, according to SVR, via the Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail reported that a source said the large motorcade comprised five armored vehicles, with Putin occupying the third limo in line.

Here’s the account from one SVR source, via The Mirror: “On the way to the residence, a few kilometres away, the first escort car was blocked by an ambulance, [and] the second escort car drove around without stopping [due to the] sudden obstacle, and during the detour of the obstacle.”

And in Putin’s car, “a loud bang sounded from the left front wheel followed by heavy smoke,” according to the SVR source.

The drama didn’t end there, with SVR reporting the body of a man “driving [the] ambulance, which blocked the first car from the motorcade” was found shortly after the incident.

Despite “control” problems, Putin’s limo made it out of the attack scene in relatively good shape and safely reached its destination.

The rollout of details might not come quickly, since the incident is reportedly being marked as “classified” within the Russian government.

“The head of the president’s bodyguard [service] and several other people have been suspended and are in custody,” SVR reported, while falling short of identifying anyone.

The SVR report continued: “A narrow circle of people knew about the movement of the president in this cortege, and all of them were from the presidential security service.

“After the incident, three of them disappeared. … These were exactly the people who were in the first car of the motorcade.”

Since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, which first launched on Feb. 24, there have been a flood of unsubstantiated rumors of Putin, 69, experiencing a health decline.

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