A former Russian lawmaker self-exiled in Ukraine is seeking to establish a new political power base right under the nose of Vladimir Putin in Russian territory seized by Kyiv’s forces.

Ilya Ponomarev, a 49-year-old ex-politician now on Russia’s list of terrorists and extremists, says the stunning cross-border incursion launched by Kyiv’s forces on Aug. 6 presents a new “political opportunity.”

“I’ve been telling Ukrainian authorities for two years that Putin’s power is weak, that nobody is defending the border much,” Ponomarev tells the Daily Beast. “I have been preparing for this particular moment to begin building a new platform, assemble the new power on the Russian territory—I am ready to lead and risk my life, in any case Russian drones are already targeting me.”

Ponomarev and his wife were injured earlier this month in a drone attack which damaged his home in Kyiv Oblast—he described the incident at the time as the fifth attempt on his life. He’s been a thorn in the side of the Kremlin for a decade, having been the only member of Russia’s State Duma to vote against Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

He was later accused of embezzlement in Russia—charges which he dismissed as politically motivated—and has lived in exile in Ukraine for years. Ponomarev now........

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