Prosecutors in Montenegro have released the names of two Russian citizens who they say attempted to organize the assassination of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic in October.
Prosecutors on November 18 identified the two Russians as Eduard Shirokov and Vladimir Popov and accused them of organizing a criminal group with the aim of murdering Djukanovic and inciting a coup in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
Montenegro officials alleged that Shirokov and Popov met in Moscow on September 26 with Aleksandar Sindelic, the head of the nationalist Serbian Wolves organization in order to arrange the plot. They reportedly gave Sindelic 200,000 euros to carry it out.
Some 20 Serbian and Montenegrin citizens, including Sindelic, were arrested in Montenegro on October 16 in connection with the alleged plot.
The whereabouts of Shirokov and Popov are unknown.
Sindelic reportedly testified that he had been drawn into the plot by “two nationalists from Russia” whom he had met while fighting for Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has denied any involvement in the alleged plot.
