Putin 'faked own death in bid to test his popularity in Russia', claims Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has been accused by Ukraine of faking his own death in an effort to test his popularity among the Russian public.
The Kremlin firmly denied claims the President had died and his body was being kept in a freezer after previous reports said he'd suffered a cardiac arrest at his Moscow residence. However, on Tuesday (October 31) he seemingly re-emerged in a ranting video, having reportedly arrived two hours late for a meeting.
During the gathering with his leading military and security henchmen he blamed foreign interference for anti-Semitic scenes at a regional airport when a mob staged a hunt for Jews arriving by plane from Tel Aviv, Israel. Citing no evidence, he accused Ukraine and Western intelligence services of guilt for the hate-filled uprising in Makhachkala, the capital of the Dagestan region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Kyiv military intelligence spokesman Andrii Yusov says the reports were started by Moscow in a bid to tighten domestic control. Yusov told Ukrainian media: "In this way, the empire, which is built on the work of the secret services, learns how to continue to rule." The rumours were started on October 27 on Telegram channel General SVR, which claims to have an insider in Putin's entourage. The channel is known for repeatedly claiming Putin is dead.
The report said: “Attention! There is currently an attempted coup in Russia! Russian President Vladimir Putin died this evening at his residence in Valdai at 20:42 Moscow time, doctors stopped resuscitation and pronounced death. Now the doctors are blocked in the room with Putin’s corpse, they are being held by members of the presidential security service on the personal orders of Dmitry Kochnev who is in touch and receives instructions from the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev.”
Red Arrow pilot forced to send out emergency alert after bird smashes into jet
It went on to say: "Security for the president's double has been beefed up. Active negotiations are underway. Any attempt to pass off a double as the president after Putin’s death is a coup.” However, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the rumours and told state media RIA Novosti that the report was an “absurd information canard”.
However, Yusov said this was all part of the Kremlin's plans, with the war in Ukraine still rumbling on after Putin launched an invasion in February 2022. He said: “The basic purpose of fake news is to look at how society reacts in terms of numbers and dynamics. [The purpose is] to look at the reactions of individuals, the elite and the media."
Peskov also strongly denied rumours Putin suffered a heart attack last month and said suggestions that a body double is being used are not true. It comes amid some conspiracy theories that Putin's inner circle - dubbed 'The Ozeros' - are plotting to take down the President. They suggest the reports are further evidence of the intense power struggle.
Igor Girkin, a prominent Russian military blogger, claims the inner circle want to bring in Sergey Kiriyenko, Putin's chief of staff, as his replacement. According to Russian outlet Meduza, the 61-year-old is already trying to position himself as a possible successor to Putin.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
