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

The Kremlin spread the rumor that Putin died to test his popularity among Russians, Ukraine claims.

Andrii Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s 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 aimed at loosening the country’s grip to strengthen domestic control.

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

Telegram broadcaster General SVR reported last Friday that the Russian president had died and that he had used body doubles to portray him in public. Since the invasion began, several people have made dual claims about the body.

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

Observers see the Kremlin ruler’s changing appearance over the years as possible evidence that he is replacing himself with someone else for tasks he does not want to undertake or that he considers too dangerous. The speculation started in June when he took selfies with young girls in Derbent

However, the claim about his death still attracted global media attention, forcing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to deny it.

Yussov believes it was all part of a strategy with which Moscow wanted to gauge the Russians’ reaction.

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

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

There is no reliable analysis linking the Kremlin to this channel.

General SVR also reported several alleged humiliations suffered by the Russian president, such as soiling himself and falling down the stairs.

The Telegram channel distanced itself from the Kremlin and claimed that the letter was written by a former Moscow intelligence officer.

“He’s fine, it’s definitely another fake [rumour]Peskov insisted on October 24 when asked about a report that Putin had suffered a serious health episode days earlier.

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

“I can tell you that there are no doubles at work,” Peskov said.

He added: “This one [kinds of stories] belongs to the category of fake news, reported with enviable tenacity by numerous media outlets. It produces nothing but a smile [in the Kremlin].’

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

Putin listens to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, October 24, 2023

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

Peskov insisted the president – who has plunged Russia and Ukraine into a grueling war – was fit and healthy. The rumors amounted to an “absurd farce,” he said.

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

In a 2020 interview, Putin denied long-standing rumors that he used 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 replacing himself with someone else for tasks he does not want to undertake or that he considers too dangerous.

The speculation arose in June when Putin made a surprise visit to the southern Russian city of Derbent just days after the failed Wagner uprising. Photos show the despot dressed like a Hollywood actor on a red carpet on a night when crowds were hiding.

The normally stoic and isolated Putin looked energized after fending off a minor civil war a week earlier and was unusually personable. He shook hands and planted kisses on the head of a young teenage girl who flocked to him and begged her mother to stop. a photo of her with the president.

In another bizarre moment, he shook hands and appeared to try something on his uniform with an officer who may have been carrying his nuclear briefcase.

He had never greeted his security guards like that before.

The scene was a marked departure from the extreme measures of recent years that imposed strict quarantines on anyone outside Putin’s immediate circle before meeting him.

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

Putin listens to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, October 24, 2023

The Derbent trip was seen by critics as a publicity stunt. Putin hasn’t greeted crowds like this since before the pandemic

It comes as rumors continue to circulate about Putin’s ill health.

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

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

The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, claimed that the real Putin had not been seen since June 2022.

“The one that everyone knew 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 various appearances and concluded that he uses one or perhaps two body doubles.

Putin has taken trips to Kyrgyzstan and China and has been extremely active in travel within Russia.

A few weeks ago, 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.

The broadcaster says it is all carried out by doppelgangers who have undergone cosmetic surgery and have been trained for years by Russian intelligence services to act as Putin’s proxies.

In April, Peskov acknowledged that there were many reports of Putin’s doppelganger, but claimed that the war-killer was “mega-active”.

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

“You see our president. “He’s still exactly the same as he was: super active.”

Putin admitted that his aides had previously questioned him about the use of body doubles, a routine procedure for former Kremlin leaders Stalin and Brezhnev. Putin said he rejected the plan.