Vladimir Putin was rumoured to have a body double 'on standby' after his health allegedly took a turn for the worst during a recent trip to Kamchatka this week (Credits: Kremlin.ru)
Vladimir Putin is rumoured to have a body double ‘on standby’ after his health allegedly took a turn for the worse during a recent trip to Kamchatka this week (Picture: Reuters/ AFP)

Vladimir Putin allegedly has a body double on standby if he is unable to fulfil engagements.

It’s claimed the Russian president complained to doctors about fatigue and shortness of breath during a recent trip to the nation’s far east.

He is currently supervising the Vostok 2022 war games taking place in the Pacific – a mammoth journey which required him to make a pit-stop in the Kamchatka peninsula after supposedly facing medical setbacks.

While there he gave another long speech and could be seen gripping hold of his chair and apparently looking visibly unwell as he addressed a conference for young ecologists.

Just days earlier, Putin was spotted twitching his leg and slumping uncomfortably in his chair during a talk with school children.

Telegram channel General SVR – which has long claimed Putin is suffering serious from health issues – claims the president made the trip in spite of his deteriorating condition and has a doppelgänger on hand in case things take a turn for the worse.

‘Even before the flight to Kamchatka, President of Russia Vladimir Putin had worsening problems with his kidneys, swelling of his face appeared, [and] ‘bags’ under his eyes clearly appeared,’ stated the channel.

‘Despite the use of drugs, there was no clear improvement.

‘Upon arrival in Kamchatka, Putin complained to doctors about fatigue and shortness of breath.

‘But the president nevertheless decided to participate in pre-planned activities.

‘[A] doppelgänger of the President is ready to assist.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) military exercise in far eastern Russia, outside Vladivostok, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. The weeklong exercise that began Thursday is intended to showcase growing defense ties between Russia and China and also demonstrate that Moscow has enough troops and equipment to conduct the massive drills even as its troops are engaged in military action in Ukraine. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Rumours of Putin’s health have continued to swirl in recent months, although the Kremlin has strenuiusly denied there is anything wrong with the Russian president (Picture: AP)
Vladimir Putin’s twitching leg has sparked more health fears for the Russian president
Putin looked visibly unwell during a recent public appearance, during which he was seen tightly gripping his chair’s armrest and twitching his leg (Credits: Mayak)
TOPSHOT - (L-R) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a photo before a trilateral meeting on Syria in Tehran on July 19, 2022. (Photo by Sergei Savostyanov / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
Putin was rumoured to have sent a body double to a recent summit in Tehran where he met Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and Turkey’s President Erdogan (Picture: Getty)

The Telegram channel, supposedly authored by exiled Kremlin general Viktor Mikhailovich, claims to have insider knowledge of Putin’s condition but has yet to offer any definitive proof.

Yet they are not the only source to claim Putin has body doubles on standby.

Ukraine’s Head of Military Intelligence, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, also recently said he employs lookalikes, and may have even been using one during a recent meeting with Turkish president Erdogan in Tehran.

Mr Budanov cited the shape of Putin’s ears, which he claimed had changed over the years, as proof of his theory, along with his height and awkward demeanour when addressing fellow world leaders.

Yet CIA director William Burns has rubbished these claims, and has said there is no definitive proof Putin is seriously ill.

Putin, who has also recently been spotted with a limp and ‘numb’ right arm, has had five known medical-related disappearances since 2012, including in February 2018 when he went missing in the midst of an election campaign while suffering from ‘a cold’.

However, Kremlin officials deny he has health issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media after his talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, Iran, late Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Sergei Savostyanov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Yet Putin denies having his own body double, despite admitting his advisors had considered it at one stage (Picture: AP)

Two years ago, Putin confirmed that officials had at one point considered using doubles, but claimed the idea was eventually rejected.

‘I discarded the idea of any doubles,’ he said.

He was advised in the early 2000s when Russia was hit by terrorist attacks that a lookalike should take his place at events where the head of state might be at risk, he said.

‘This was during the toughest time of our war against terrorism,’ he said.

The Vostok 2022 drills – thousands of miles from the conflict in Europe – involve the deployment of 5,000 military vehicles, 140 aircraft, 60 warships and some 50,000 service personnel.

The aim of the Pacific exercises is to show the joint resolve of Moscow and Beijing to stand up to the West, while also including other “allies” like India – to America’s chagrin – and Mongolia as well as China.

The drills gloss over evident Russian annoyance at the lack of more concrete military and technical backing in the Ukraine conflict from China.

The West has noted that Russia has deployed fewer troops than normal to the Pacific drills this year.

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