- "The big question is whether the real Putin still exists," says the Ukrainian espionage chief.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Ukraine claims Putin has three doppelgangers who have undergone cosmetic surgery to look like him

The figure of Vladimir Putin is increasingly surrounded by obscurantism, especially since last February he decided to start the invasion of Ukraine, which has unleashed a bloody war.

In addition to the rumors about his health, other information is also circulating: one of the most recurrent is that the Russian autocrat uses doubles to preserve his safety.

This is now assured by the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, who says that they had detected doubles of Putin in the past who replaced him on "special occasions", but now it is a "regular practice".

"We know specifically about three people who keep showing up, but we don't know how many there are," he says. "Everyone had plastic surgery to look alike," adds Budanov, in statements collected by the Daily Mail.

"The only thing that gives them away is their height. It is visible in videos and images. Also, gestures, body language, and earlobes, since they are unique to each person," continues the head of Kyiv intelligence.

But Budanov goes even further: "The big question is whether the real Putin still exists," although he refuses to say whether Putin has disappeared, either due to illness or after a power struggle.

Budanov stresses that the Kremlin is running out of guided missiles and believes that if Ukraine recaptures the southern city of Kherson, this could have dramatic consequences for the Russian regime.

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