MOSCOW - Russian and Ukrainian secret agents have successfully stopped an assassination attempt on Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, local media reported Monday.

According to Russian state TV Channel One, the internationally wanted criminals were captured in Odessa, Ukraine.

They testified that they had intended to carry out the plot in Moscow immediately after the March 4 presidential election, said the TV station.

The investigation is still under way.

Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov did not refute the report but refrained from making any comments to local media.