The Kremlin finds it “strange” that kyiv mentions Putin’s use of look-alikes
The Kremlin is not sparing its criticism against the remarks of Oleksi Danilov, the secretary of the Ukrainian National Security Council. The latter said on Wednesday evening that the Kremlin master’s visit to the occupied part of Kherson Oblast was staged, saying it was actually one of the Russian leader’s lookalikes who had been shown in the media. “There was no Putin there”he said on television. “He was a double, it is well known”added the official.
“I can only say that these statements are strange to say the least”said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in response to Ukrainian statements. According to the Kremlin, the Russian president visited the areas occupied by the Russian army in Kherson and Luhansk oblasts in Ukraine a few days ago, his second trip to the conflict zone, after that of the month of March in Mariupol. He remained in military headquarters, without approaching the front, nor going to meet soldiers or civilians.
According to political scientist Valeri Soloveï interviewed by a journalist from the opponent’s YouTube channel Mikhail KhodorkovskyPutin has two lookalikes, and it was one of them who flew to Kherson. “The president would never go so far in his life and in such a dangerous place, even if he were located 150 kilometers from the front line”, he asserts. He adds that when Putin sends look-alikes to events, figures like Nikolai Patrushev (head of the Security Council) don’t bother to show up. And to add that Evgueni Prigojine would not have gone to meet the president, having probably learned that it was a look-alike who was making the trip.
Rumors about the use of lookalikes of the Russian president have been rife for years, as have those about his state of health. They are fed by his very rare public appearances since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Russian head of state still lives under a strict health regime.
At the Davos economic forum, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, had even mentioned the possibility that Mr. Putin was dead and that a double had replaced him. “I can’t tell if he’s really alive, if he’s making the decisions or someone else”he blurted out.
In February 2020, Mr. Putin said that he had opposed, in the 2000s, his security services using lookalikes to ensure his safety when Russia was faced with attacks. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, he has usually appeared on television, participating alone in his office in videoconferences. From then on, at each of his outings, Internet users analyze videos and photos in detail to try to establish whether it is the Russian president or a double.