Images of Vladimir Putin landing in North Korea have surfaced, drawing the attention of critics—many of whom believe the autocrat is being represented by a body double.
Knewz.com has learned of claims by cyber sleuths suggesting that, similar to the Chinese Belt and Road summit in 2023, the individual photographed hugging North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was one of three Putin look-alikes.
Numerous images depicting the supposed Russian president and the North Korean leader locked in an embrace have surfaced, and to some, this is the first evidence that the man who stepped off the presidential plane was not the autocrat.
“Not sure Putin actually went to NK,” quipped one netizen on X. “The videos I saw of him today were that friendly, swollen-headed hugger double he uses to meet civilians.”
Putin has been known to avoid physical contact—a habit that manifested again in a 2023 ceremony when hestood 60 feet from his guests for “sanitary” reasons.
“Wait until the world hears the truth about Putin's double, who has been the face of this failing Kremlin regime since last fall,” another netizen wrote.
As a nod to the latter, a March 2023 report by Knewz.com indicated that the autocrat “ordered hundreds” of body doubles following the issuing of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court in the same month.
Following the international law enforcement agency’s decision, Putin’s visits abroad were cut back dramatically.
Another Knewz.com article covered one rare visit.
In August of the same year, the news leaked that the autocrat was slated to visit China’s Xi Jinping during the country’s Belt Road Summit.
This came after Putin opted out of various international meetings including that of the BRICS consortium in South Africa.
When Putin eventually made the leap and was seen in China, web sleuths and purported experts alleged a conspiracy.
One such person claimed that the Russian president was at that point so sick that he could barely sustain a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Putin had to communicate personally with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite feeling very bad, the Russian President held this conversation, even with some enthusiasm, and after the negotiations, he went on vacation again,” the alleged whistle-blower claimed and took his allegation a step further saying:
“The Russian leadership is gradually turning the process of governing the country into a circus. A man resembling Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on operational issues for people who are well aware that they are taking part in a farce and for the director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops, Viktor Zolotov.”
Thus far both Putin (per REFL) and his administration have rebuffed the allegations of body doubles.
Despite these denials, a significant percentage of the public is convinced that the man the world has been seeing for an extended period is not Putin and that the Kremlin’s alleged deception “is on a slow road to dramatic implosion, which full support for Ukrainian victory would only accelerate.”
Ukrainian intelligence spokesperson, Andriy Yusov, made a similar allegation saying that proof body doubles were no longer needed.
“This information has been confirmed by many sources and is not news or something that needs proof in the world today,” Yusov said in a January 2024 statement.
