There were many strange things about Vladimir Putin’s trip to Mariupol over the weekend – the fact it was the middle of the night, people shouting ‘it's all for show’ – but one aspect that caused much speculation was the Russian President’s chin.
Or to be precise, chins.
As seems to be tradition now, a rare public appearance by Putin is once again fueling speculation that he’s using body doubles, this time evidenced by what appears to be a rather weak chin.
To gains some insight into what might actually be going on here, Kyiv Post asked a representative of Ukrainian military intelligence, Andriy Yusov, for his opinion.
He simply said: "A man that looks like Putin visited Mariupol."
Though never definitively proven in public, the body double claim has been floated throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this year, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov said that Putin's use of look-alikes reduces the risk of an assassination attempt.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin uses at least three look-alikes. They have had plastic surgery to look more like the Kremlin head."
“We know specifically about three people who keep appearing, but how many there are, we don’t know,” he said. “They all had plastic surgery to look alike.
“The one thing that gives them away is their height. It’s visible in videos and pictures. Also gestures, body language and earlobes, since they are unique for every person.”
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November, 19, 2024
The theory received another boost just last month when Putin was photographed wearing high heels while meeting a group of students in Moscow.
Last week, Andriі Smyrnov, the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, sat down with the Kyiv Post to discuss a war crime tribunal for Putin and for his infamous body doubles.
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