The Kremlin “deliberately spread the rumor that Putin had died to test how popular he was with Russians.”

The Kremlin spread the rumor that Putin died to test how popular he was with Russians, Ukraine claimed.

Andrii Yusov, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, said a report by a Russian Telegram channel last week about the alleged death of the Russian leader was a strategy by Moscow to help it tighten its grip on control at home.

“In this way, the empire built on the work of the secret services learns how to continue to rule,” Yussow said.

The Telegram channel General SVR reported last Friday that the Russian president had died and that he was using body doubles to represent him in public. Personal injury claims have been made by various parties since the invasion began.

The channel, which regularly reports on Putin’s death, claimed that Putin’s body was lying in a freezer after his alleged death.

However, the claim about his death attracted worldwide media coverage, forcing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to deny it.

Observers see the Kremlin ruler’s changing appearance over the years as possible evidence that he uses someone else as a deputy for engagements that he either does not want to undertake or that he considers too dangerous. In June, speculation arose when he took selfies with young girls in Derbent

Yusov believes this was all part of a strategy by Moscow to gauge reaction among Russians.

“The main purpose of fake news is to study how society reacts numerically and dynamically,” he said.

‘[The purpose is] to consider the reactions of individuals, the elite and the media.’

There was no authoritative analysis linking the Kremlin to the canal.

General SVR has also reported several alleged humiliations of the Russian president, such as getting dirty and falling down the stairs.

The Telegram channel has distanced itself from the Kremlin and claimed that the author was written by a former Moscow secret service officer.

The Kremlin was forced to deny mounting rumors that Putin had suffered a heart attack earlier this month and laughed off claims he was using body doubles to cover up for it during public appearances.

“There’s nothing wrong with him, this is absolutely another fake.” [rumour]Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted on October 24 when asked about a report that Putin had suffered serious health problems days earlier.

Peskov laughed in response to another question about body doubles and denied that Putin had had them.

“I can tell you that there are no doubles when it comes to work, etc.,” Peskov said.

He added: “This one [kinds of stories] belong to the category of fake news, which is discussed with enviable persistence by numerous media outlets. That brings nothing but a smile [in the Kremlin].’

It was the second time this year that Peskov had been forced to deny a series of reports about the use of lookalikes, often linked to Putin’s alleged serious health problems.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow

A recent picture of Putin with the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, showed the Russian president bloated and with blotchy skin

Peskov emphasized that the president, who plunged Russia and Ukraine into a debilitating war, was fit and healthy. The rumors amounted to an “absurd hoax,” he said.

Putin, a judo enthusiast who has long cultivated an “action man” image, turned 71 on October 7, and rumors have circulated for years about his poor health.

Most recently, the broadcaster General SVR Telegram, which regularly claims that Putin is terminally ill with cancer, claimed that he had suffered a “cardiac arrest.”

The broadcaster said all of the Russian dictator’s recent appearances, including foreign visits, have been by one or more people.

It said that doctors had revived Putin and that he had been taken to a special intensive care unit at his official residence.

“Doctors performed resuscitation measures after previously determining that the president had suffered cardiac arrest,” the station reported. “Help was provided on time, the heart was started and Putin regained consciousness.”

The channel claims that Putin’s top apparatchiks and security henchmen control the doppelgängers’ activities.

In a 2020 interview, Putin denied long-standing rumors that he uses body doubles, although he said he had been offered the opportunity to use one in the past for security reasons.

But observers see the Kremlin ruler’s changing appearance over the years as possible evidence that he is using someone else as a deputy for commitments that he either does not want to undertake or that he considers too dangerous.

Speculation was rife in June when Putin made a surprise visit to the southern Russian city of Derbent just days after the failed Wagner uprising. Footage could be seen showing the despot diving into the nighttime crowd like a Hollywood actor on a red carpet.

The normally stoic and isolated Putin appeared to be energized after averting a minor civil war the week before. He appeared unusually sympathetic, shaking hands and planting kisses on the head of a young teenage girl who gushed over him and begged her mother to freak out over a photo of her with the president.

In another bizarre moment, he shakes hands – and appears to adjust something in his uniform – with an officer who may be carrying his nuclear briefcase.

He has never greeted his security apparatchiks like this before.

The scene was markedly different from the extreme measures of recent years, which included strict quarantines for anyone outside Putin’s inner circle before meeting him.

His transformative behavior – described by the Kremlin as “amazing” – has led many, including senior Russian figures, to fuel speculation that Putin’s greeting of adoring fans in Dagestan was actually a body double.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow

Putin hasn’t been seen greeting crowds in this way since the pandemic

Rumors continue to circulate about Putin’s poor health.

The Russian political scientist Dr. Valery Solovey said earlier this month: “The fact is that current President Vladimir Putin is spending the last days of his earthly life.”

Solovey is a former professor at the renowned Moscow Institute of International Relations [MGIMO]a training academy for spies and diplomats.

The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, claimed that the real Putin has not been seen since June 2022.

“The one that everyone used to know was last seen around June 26, 2022,” he said in September.

A recent Japanese television report used AI to analyze Putin’s face, gait and voice during several appearances and concluded that he actually uses one or perhaps two body doubles.

Putin made trips to Kyrgyzstan and China and was unusually active in traveling within Russia.

Last week he visited Perm and held talks with his war commander General Valery Gerasimov in Rostov-on-Don after taking a “detour” to visit the military headquarters.

According to the broadcaster, they are all lookalikes who have undergone plastic surgery and years of training by Russian secret services in order to act as Putin’s representatives.

This week he held meetings with officials in Moscow. On October 24, he was shown meeting Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who is also trade and industry minister.

In April, Peskov admitted that there were numerous reports of Putin’s doppelganger, but claimed that the warmonger was “megaactive.”

“You may have heard that Putin has several doppelgangers working in his place while he sits in a bunker,” he said. “That’s more lies.” That’s another lie.

“You see our president. “He’s just like he used to be – super active.”

Putin has admitted that his aides had previously asked him whether he wanted to use body doubles, something that was routine for former Kremlin leaders Stalin and Brezhnev. Putin said he rejected the plan.