>
Vladimir Putin is using at least three body doubles who have had plastic surgery to resemble him, the Ukrainian intelligence chief speculates that they are being used to cover up his loss of control in the Kremlin.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, head of military intelligence, says the Ukrainian government is so baffled by Russia’s disastrous invasion strategy that it questions whether Putin is still making key decisions.
He says “how bad” Putin was in the past, “he was not an idiot”, but he goes on to say that the Russian war “doesn’t follow any logic”.
Budanov adds: ‘The big question is whether the real Putin still exists?’
A doppelganger of Vladimir Putin (left) compared to the Russian leader (right). Ukrainian intelligence chief claims Putin uses at least three body doubles who had plastic surgery to look like him
The extraordinary suggestion, amid repeated rumors about Putin’s health, came in an exclusive interview with the man seen as Moscow’s state enemy No. 1 after a series of devastating attacks on Russian interests.
Budanov says they had discovered Putin doubles in the past replacing him on “special occasions,” but now it’s “common practice.” “We know specifically about three people who keep showing up, but we don’t know how many there are,” he says. “They’ve all had plastic surgery to look alike.
“The only thing that betrays them is their height. It is visible in videos and images. Also gestures, body language and earlobes, because they are unique for every person.’ Budanov is not distracted by whether Putin has disappeared, due to illness or after a power struggle. He reveals that the Kremlin is running out of guided missiles and believes that if Ukraine recaptures the southern city of Kherson, it could have dramatic consequences for the Russian regime.
He says “change is inevitable” in Moscow, arguing that the arrival of a new political order in Russia is in the interest of “the entire civilized world” and calls on Britain to do everything “to prevent events from happening.” speed up that will happen anyway’ .
“We are very grateful for the help your government is providing,” said Budanov. “We hope that the UK will not only continue but increase its political, economic and military support. We urgently need air defense systems.’
He admits that Ukrainian leaders would have discussions over whether to continue pushing their troops across the Russian border. “This decision will be made by the head of state when we get all our land back,” he says.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, head of military intelligence (pictured) has wondered ‘if the real Putin still exists?’
Budanov is an ex-Special Forces agent who was appointed chief of military intelligence two years ago at the age of 34 and was promoted shortly before the war to oversee all intelligence services. He has been wounded several times in action.
Russian media have linked him to undercover operations in Crimea along with another officer who later died in a car bomb attack, while in Ukraine he was reported to have been the target of an assassination attempt in 2019.
Last week, a leading Russian analyst praised Budanov’s effectiveness and called for his elimination. “Yeah, they officially call me Public Enemy No 1,” he laughs.
We met in a darkened room after I was driven to the site by a senior female officer. There was a German machine gun on the floor and two knives on his desk, next to a chessboard and a book about Mossad, the Israeli spy agency.
First we discussed the future of the war, which he says will end next year. When I ask if the fights can end by the summer, he replies, “I really hope so.”
His reputation rose before the war as the only top figure from Ukraine who publicly backed warnings from British and American intelligence that Putin was planning a large-scale invasion as his troops gathered on the border.
Now Budanov sees Ukraine’s recapture of Crimea as a “personal” mission, as he spent summers as a child in Sevastopol, the port that Russia was allowed to keep as a base for its Black Sea fleet after Ukraine’s independence. He is adamant that the peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Putin in 2014, will be recaptured and is angry with those who “stupidly” claim that Ukraine should not provoke Russia for fear of escalating the war.
What about the risk of nuclear weapons? “It’s scaremongering,” he says.
“Nuclear weapons are not weapons, they are deterrents. And Russia knows very well that it cannot use them.
“If you study when they started threatening them, you see a clear connection: when things go bad with them, they start yelling, ‘We can use nuclear weapons.’ ‘
Budanov is the man who blames Russia for this month’s explosion on the bridge to Crimea, a major supply route for Putin’s troops in southern Ukraine.
Budanov does not want to comment on that or previous attacks on military targets in Crimea, but adds: ‘What goes around, comes around. We are at war with the Russian Federation. We use all means to cause his defeat.’
He says the recent annexation of Kherson by Putin, who claims it is part of Russia as Ukrainian forces invade the city, underscores doubts about his mental well-being. “It looks ridiculous,” he says. “They are annexing it in Moscow in a grand way, although they know they will lose it. So my question is, is Putin okay? And is it really Putin? Maybe it’s even someone else.’ There have been previous allegations that Putin may have undergone cosmetic surgery, along with recent rumors that he is battling a serious illness, even cancer.
In July, a Ukrainian intelligence official alleged that Putin may have sent a corpse in his stead for a visit to Iran. It is suspected that former Kremlin leaders such as Josef Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev also used body doubles as decoys.
Budanov believes the expected liberation of Kherson by Ukraine will raise big questions in Russia: “How is it possible that Ukraine – a place they have no respect for and never even believed to be a country to take seriously – territories of the Russian Federation? We believe this situation would have serious consequences for public opinion.’
He admits that Ukraine has undercover agents in Russia. “Yes, of course we have,” he says, adding that “most of our activity is focused on the Chechen republic.” Chechnya, which tried to escape from Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, has been led into two savage wars by a brutal ally of Putin. Last week, the Kiev parliament recognized Chechnya as an occupied territory.
Budanov is convinced that not only will Ukraine win this war, but Putin will also be ousted from power so that this conflict will change the future shape of Russia.
He says the faster Ukraine restores its borders to the way they were in 1991, “the faster Russia will rebuild. It will be a different country with a different leadership with different borders.”
I asked one last question on behalf of a Ukrainian friend: who was his favorite 007? “Sean Connery,” he replies immediately. I suggest he could be the modern version of Ukraine. “Thank you,” he says with a smile, although no future film would be called From Russia With Love.
Additional coverage: Kate Baklitskaya