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Vladimir Putin has mysteriously disappeared from public view as his regime issued apocalyptic World War Three nuclear threats over the use of long-range Western missiles by Ukraine against Russian territory. It is unclear if during the past 12 days of high international tension the Kremlin dictator has been holed up in a hi-tech bunker, unwell, underwent another round of plastic surgery, took a secret holiday or simply chose to remain out of sight.
Yet Putin, 72, has not been definitively seen since an appearance at the Valdai Forum in Sochi on November 7 when he congratulated a “courageous” Donald Trump on his election victory and hinted he was ready for talks to end the war, according to the Faridaily Telegram channel, which monitors his movements and appearances.
“Where Putin is in these anxious days, when the war with Ukraine is entering a new round of escalation, and what he is doing, apparently only his security and a small circle of close associates know,” said the channel. Putin was noticeably absent from view on Tuesday when the Kremlin announced he had signed off a new version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine, a revelation which came soon after his spokesman indicated the amended text was not ready.
The new doctrine allows for a Russian nuclear strike if its territory is attacked by a non-nuclear power, such as Ukraine, with missiles provided by a nuclear power, such as a NATO member. This exact scenario happened on Tuesday when Ukraine used US-supplied ATACMS missiles to destroy a Russian ammunition arsenal in Bryansk region.
But the channel claims a succession of one-to-one Putin meetings shown to Russians on state TV channels were in fact pre-recorded – or “canned” – as long as two months ago. Putin’s AWOL period also covers an alleged phone call between Putin and Trump, which the Kremlin later strenuously denied.
“It is no secret that the Kremlin often reports on Putin’s bilateral meetings with governors, government officials, heads of state companies, parliamentarians and public figures later than they actually take place,” said Faridaily, run by Russian journalist Farida Rustamova. “This technology, which in journalistic slang is called ‘canned goods’, helps the Russian president to disappear from the public space unnoticed.
“Meanwhile, the Kremlin press service uses the ‘canned goods’ to create the illusion that the president is working non-stop.” The recent scale of use of pre-recorded meetings is “astonishing”, says the outlet. This also happened several years ago when rumours were rife about Putin’s health.
There are give-away moments in the recent Putin appearances which show they were recorded earlier, according to Faridaily. For example, on November 19, Putin was seen meeting leader of the New People faction, Alexei Nechayev, who said his MPs had just supported the first reading of the federal budget which surges huge spending to the Russian military machine.
But the budget had its first reading on October 24 and has already had its second reading which wasn’t mentioned. Nechayev has also since had a haircut, indicating the footage could be old. He was also seen at a parliamentary exhibition earlier on the day he supposedly met Putin, which would mean he had not undergone the expected five day quarantine before face-to-face sessions with the tyrant.
Another recent televised meeting showed Putin with hardline Liberal-Democrat Party leader Leonid Slutsky, who told the dictator about parliamentary election results – but these were in September. On November 14, when Putin met Slutsky, he spoke publicly before the alleged session with the president, meaning he, too, could not have undergone quarantine at that time.
Yet another politician, United Russia’s Vladimir Vasiliev, was seen talking to Putin about preparing the budget – which matched events in September. Similar inconsistencies were seen with a televised Putin meeting with Yevgeny Balitsky, governor of occupied Zaporizhzhia region. “The Kremlin has not reported any public events with Putin for almost two weeks – the last time he appeared in public was on November 7 at the Valdai Forum,” stated the channel. told by BBC.
“Since then, the Kremlin has only published video messages and bilateral meetings, many of which are ‘canned’. Where Putin is in these anxious days, when the war with Ukraine is entering a new round of escalation, and what he is doing, apparently only his security and a small circle of close associates know. Perhaps it does not even include press secretary Dmitry Peskov, who several hours before the publication of the new nuclear doctrine, assured that it was not yet ready.”
Meanwhile, Putin’s secret lover Alina Kabaeva, 41, a former Olympic champion, has turned up in Qatar, where videos show her with her rhythmic gymnastics starlets for a tournament. Putin’s vanishing act between November 8 and 19 comes amid high international tension with his Kremlin security council deputy Dmitry Medvedev – Russia’s president from 2008-2012 – bluntly warning that a nuclear World War Three could be triggered.
He said on Tuesday: “The use of the Alliance missiles in this way can now be qualified as an attack by the bloc countries on Russia. In this case, the right arises to launch a retaliatory strike with weapons of mass destruction on Kyiv and the main NATO facilities, wherever they are. And this is already World War Three.”
Calculations are underway in Moscow and Kyiv as to whether the new Trump presidency will end the war, and how. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to use long-range US missiles amid the expectation he has also received permission to use British Storm Shadows and French SCALPs. But he warned that he will lose the war if Trump cuts military aid to Kyiv.
He told Fox News: “If they cut, I think we will lose. Of course, we will continue to fight anyway. We have our own production, but it is not enough to have an advantage. And I think it is not enough to survive.” He added: “But if this is America’s choice, then we will decide what we need to do.” When Putin travelled to Sochi, he was reported to have not stayed the night in the Black Sea resort, which is in range of Ukrainian drones.
