Is he Putin?
The Ukrainian government’s top adviser on Monday fueled a conspiracy theory that Russian President Vladimir Putin was using a body double to attend public events on his behalf.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, shared three recent photos of the Russian leader on Twitter, two of which he believed were taken during a trip to Ukrainian territory this weekend. will be split.
The side-by-side images show red circles around the neck and chin of the men in each photo, seemingly suggesting that all three men in the photos are not Putin.
An image taken on February 21 in Moscow makes Putin appear to have a thinner neck, while two photos taken this weekend in Mariupol and Sevastopol show a fuller chin.
With the image, Gerashchenko asks, “Which one do you think is real?”
Putin’s rare public appearances, including his first trip to Mariupol, a territory occupied since the start of the invasion last year, have fueled speculation about whether he is using a body double. increase.
The Russian leader was not only jeered by residents during a visit to Mariupol, but also investigated comments about his seemingly weak jaw.
Conspiracy theories about Putin using body doubles have been circulating since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, but have never been proven true.
“A man who looked like Putin visited Mariupol,” Ukrainian military intelligence chief Andriy Yusov told the Kiev Post.
Kirilo Budanov, director of Ukraine’s military intelligence department, told the outlet earlier this year that using a body double reduces the risk of an assassination attempt.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has at least three look-alikes. They’ve had plastic surgery to look more like the Kremlin’s head,” Budanov said.
Budanov said, “I know specifically about three people who keep appearing, but I don’t know how many there are.”
“The only thing that gives them is their height. You see it in videos and pictures. And also because gestures, body language, and earlobes are unique to every person.”
