WHERE'S VLAD?
Putin may already be DEAD as ‘real’ despot has not been seen in public for over a year, Ukrainian spy chief claims
A UKRAINIAN spy chief has claimed the "real" Vladimir Putin has not been seen in public for over a year, adding fire to rumours that the leader uses one or more doppelgangers in his place.
Major-General Kyrylo Budanov - who is in charge of drone strikes and undercover ops against Russia - said he's unsure if the mad leader is still living.
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In an interview with Anzhelika Rudenko of Radio Svoboda, the spy chief said: “The Putin who everyone used to know was last seen around June 26, 2022."
Rudenko then asked: “So he is either not alive, or else he is in a really bad health state?”
Budanov replied: “Or he doesn’t want to appear. There might be so many different reasons.”
The spy chief cited a recent video where the Russian dictator was seen looking at his watch on the wrong wrist.
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Putin glanced at his left wrist and looked baffled after realising his timepiece was not there.
But the warlord has always infamously worn his watches on his right wrist - leaving many questioning why he would be unsure of its place.
Later in the meeting, the Kremlin leader was seen taking off his watch - believed to be a £12,500 Russian-made Raketa - and fidgeting with it in his hands.
Budanov was asked by Rudenko: “Is this a real Putin?”
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Budanov replied: “Let’s leave it to everyone to decide, so everyone leaves it to their own fantasy.”
The Radio Svoboda presenter mentioned she thought it was a body double posing for Putin, to which Budanov agreed.
When asked directly if Putin was alive or not, the intelligence chief coolly responded: “I don’t know what to answer you.”
Putin is known to be highly paranoid about his security, a fear which has only increased since he sent Russian forces into Ukraine.
Telegram channel General SVR has long claimed that a sickly Putin now permanently uses doppelgangers and lookalike actors who have undergone plastic surgery for his public appearances.
In March, a clip of Putin's visit to Mariupol prompted sceptics to put a magnifier on his facial features.
The video points out a number of inconsistencies in the tyrant's appearance during various different publicity stunts.
It states: "Specialists long ago noticed the differences between the Russian president’s body doubles.
"A ledge on Putin’s earlobe constantly changes. As does a small mole on his face.
"One of the Putins has straight wrinkles on his face, the other has small and interrupted [wrinkles].
Rumours are rife that he now relies heavily on his "understudies" to stand in for him as he struggles to disguise his ailing health.
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Bombshell spy documents leaked to The Sun appeared to confirm he has pancreatic cancer and early-stage Parkinson's disease.
It has also been alleged that Putin enlisted several lookalikes to go under the knife for plastic surgery to ensure they closely resemble him.
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