Ukraine war
Zelenskyj asks if Putin is alive
Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a video speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. photo
© Gian Ehrenzeller/KEYSTONE/dpa
Is it Vladimir Putin or is it a double? Is Putin still alive? The Ukrainian President sometimes has doubts. The Kremlin answers.
After rumors about Vladimir Putin’s alleged doppelganger, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not really believe that the head of the Kremlin is still alive. “I don’t finally understand whether he’s alive,” said Zelenskyj via video at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to a statement.
He is not sure whether the 70-year-old shown on the screens is the real Putin. It is also unclear who makes decisions in Russia at all, said the 44-year-old on the question of possible negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on peace.
Putin and the doubles
The Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov once said that he believed there were several doubles of Putin. In fact, Putin once said that he had been advised in the past to use a double at official meetings for security reasons. “The idea came up, but I gave up on doubles,” he said.
The Kremlin has now again rejected the doubts expressed by Kyiv about Putin’s existence. For Zelenskyy, the existence of Putin and Russia is a psychological problem, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The sooner Kyiv realizes that both Russia and Putin will stay in the future, the better for Ukraine.
Traditional ice bath
According to Peskov, Putin only took an ice bath on Thursday. Epiphany, the festival of the Baptist, is celebrated in Russia on January 19th. Millions of Orthodox Christians traditionally go ice bathing on the day to wash away their sins.
The head of the Kremlin has also been keen to show himself in front of the camera during the procedure for several years. However, this time there was no photo of it.