Russian President Vladimir Putin's car 'attacked in assassination attempt': All you need to know

This comes a week after a group of politicians from St Petersburg appealed to the State Duma to bring charges of state treason against Putin and strip him of power, citing a series of reasons including Russia's military losses in Ukraine and the damage to its economy from Western sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has survived as assassination attempt, news agency Euro Weekly News reported on Wednesday. It also reported that the information was released on the General GVR Telegram channel. However, it is not clear when the attempt took place.

According to reports, the front left wheel of the Russian President's limousine was hit, Euro Weekly reported, saying that the President's car was quickly driven to safety as smoke emerged out of it.

It is also said that a number of arrests have been made in connection with the assassination attempt. Media reports also said that the accident happened when Vladimir Putin was travelling back to his official residence.

In 2017, Putin had publicly disclosed that he had survived at least five assassination attempts.

Vladimir Putin is set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan on Thursday where the two leaders will attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional security group.

This comes a week after a group of politicians from St Petersburg appealed to the State Duma to bring charges of state treason against Putin and strip him of power, citing a series of reasons including Russia's military losses in Ukraine and the damage to its economy from Western sanctions.

Another local deputy said 65 municipal representatives from St Petersburg, Moscow and several other regions had signed a petition she published on Monday calling for Putin's resignation.

In another news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's car collided with another car on Thursday morning when his motorcade was passing through the capital city Kyiv. However, the accident did not significantly hurt the president head of Ukraine, according to his spokesperson.

The Ukrainian President, who is at the core of Ukraine's defence against Russia, broadcast a video soon after the incident in keeping with his custom of addressing the nation.

In his nightly address, Zelensky gave an update on the situation in Kharkiv and said he had just returned from the area adding that “almost the entire region is de-occupied" after a lightning counteroffensive to dislodge Russian troops.