World leaders have way too much on their plate to be personally involved in assassinating random foreign citizens for high-degree political effects.
If you see this headline, and story, and immediately think of Putin, that is an unhealthy level of conspiratorial thinking. There is literally no evidence to support this line.
I don't think anyone actually believes Putin personally organises many individual operations in foreign countries. You're just getting hung up on a common shortcut: "Putin" means "someone under Putin's (not even direct) command" here.
This is a niche, US specific issue. Assassinations expose agents that take years to plant. If Russia wanted to get involved, they would honey trap executives, hack them, etc.
Getting involved at this low level is absurd.
It’s like finding a Turd on you lawn, and claiming it’s part of a Russian Plot.
If you see this headline, and story, and immediately think of Putin, that is an unhealthy level of conspiratorial thinking. There is literally no evidence to support this line.