Foiled Ukrainian Assassination Attempt to Kill 77 Russian Pilots Involved Poisoned Cake and Jameson Irish Whiskey
A Ukraine assassin reportedly attempted to poison senior-ranking Russian pilots at a celebration held at a flight school. The assassin slipped poison into bottles of Jameson and a cake. (Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via AP)
On Monday, Metro reported that an assassin from Ukraine attempted to kill 77 Russian pilots with poisoned cake and Jameson Irish whiskey.
The cases of Jameson and giant cake were laced with a deadly ingredient and delivered to a party to celebrate the anniversary of the graduation of a class of Russian pilots at Armavir Higher Military Aviation School. Armavir is a prestigious military flight school.
Many of the graduates currently hold senior rankings within the Russian military.
Russian security footage identified the assassin, who was disguised as a delivery man, as E. Semenov. Semenov was tracked through a Russian database using facial recognition technology and was caught attempting to flee the country.
The 32-year-old apparently confessed immediately, according to the Russian media.
“He immediately told everything — about the cake with a potent poison, which bottles were poisoned right away, and which ones he bought to top the present up. He explained how he knew the number of guests, and where the celebration would take place. Even the aviation school emblem, drawn on top of the cake was the current emblem.”
Russian authorities claim the man ordered the cake from a bakery in Armavir within the country’s Krasnodar region. They are actively looking to identify the baker and any potential co-conspirators.
Despite the assassin’s best efforts, the attempt was unsuccessful, and nobody was hurt.
“It would have been a disaster. 77 guests. But everybody is alive,” Russian authorities stated.
A Timeline of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and Its Effect on the Spirits Market
On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Monday marks day 607 of the bloody conflict, as pointed out by Aljazeera. Axios reported in March 2022 that 141 countries in the U.N condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and many spirits suppliers chose to forgo business with Russia entirely in protest of the situation.
Pernod Ricard halted its distribution business in Russia in May 2023. The spirits supplier is known for distributing Jameson Irish Whiskey, and the irony is not lost that Jameson was the Ukrainian assassin’s whiskey of choice. The distributor faced media scrutiny and backlash in April 2022 when it continued to export the Irish whiskey to Russia and chose to forgo business with the country as a response.
Jameson is likely still in the country due to Russia President Vladimir Putin’s “grey market tactics,” which involve using a parallel import system. More likely than not, the assassin could purchase the whiskey in the country because of the country’s grey market, which has proved damaging for major distributors.
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