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Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Major-General Kyrylo Budanov, has stated that Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, has not been publicly seen for over a year. Budanov further expressed uncertainty regarding Putin’s current status, including whether he is still alive.
Major-General Kyrylo Budanov, in an interview, lent credibility to allegations that the Russian president employs doppelgängers for his public appearances.
Speaking on Saturday, September 2, Budanov remarked about Putin, stating, “The individual who was once a familiar figure to all has not been publicly seen since approximately June 26, 2022.”
Reports from that night indicated that the Russian leader had undertaken a late-night journey to the Kremlin for emergency discussions with his allies, among them Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko, often described as a strongman.
When the interviewer inquired about his well-being, Budanov responded, “He may not be alive, or perhaps he is in poor health. Alternatively, he may choose not to make an appearance. There could be numerous reasons.”
The head of military intelligence made mention of a recent video featuring Putin, in which he seems to briefly glance at his left wrist, possibly to check the time.
Putin is renowned for wearing his watch on his right wrist.
In the video, Putin bizarrely removes the timepiece and fidgets with it in his hand.
Budanov was asked about the clip by TV presenter Anzhelika Rudenko, on Crimea.Realities, linked to Radio Liberty: ‘Is this a real Putin?’
He replied: ‘Let’s leave it to everyone [to decide], so everyone leaves it to their own fantasy.’
The presenter then asks ‘But is this Putin or…’ before Budanov turns the question back on her, prompting her to say she believes it to be a body double.
Budanov then says: ‘So do I.’
He adds that it is ‘not very likely’ the real Putin.
Rudenko goes on: ‘And as for the real Putin, let me ask you directly – is he alive or not?’
The military intelligence chief replied: ‘I don’t know what to answer you.’
Telegram channel General SVR has long claimed that a sickly Putin now permanently uses a doppelgänger – a lookalike actor who has undergone plastic surgery – for public appearances.
Political analyst Dr. Valery Solovey, a Putin-watching former professor at Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations, a training school for spies and diplomats, claimed there were sometimes ‘comic errors’, as with the watch.
‘Western governments know perfectly well that President Putin is replaced by double,’ he said.
‘It is known by leaders of all more or less large countries across the world but everyone turns a blind eye. Why?
‘After all, these are [the] affairs of these strange Russians, let them do their thing, and fool their own people
