A new viral video is adding fuel to conspiracy theories that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin is deploying doppelgangers for risky public outings — including on the ground in war-torn Ukraine.
The clip, which has been making the rounds in recent days, further enflames speculation that Putin is playing it safe by using as many as three different body doubles to dodge any potential danger, according to a report Thursday by the Daily Mail.
“Who is ruling Russia?’ the video asks.
“A specialist long ago noticed the differences between the Russian president’s body doubles,” the video says in Russian. “A ledge on Putin’s earlobe constantly changes. As does a small mole on his face.
“One of the Putins has straight wrinkles on his face, the other has small and interrupted [wrinkles],” the video claims. “This is impossible even if he had botox injections.”
The wild theory gained steam earlier this week when Ukrainian government advisor Anton Gerashenchenko floated the idea that photos of Putin during an impromptu visit to the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Sevastopol appeared to be different men.
Gerashechenko, an advisor to the internal affairs minister in the war-torn country, highlighted differences in the neck and chin area in men identified as Putin.
Images of the Russian leader taken in Moscow on Feb. 21 seem to show him with a thinner neck compared to the jowls of the men pictured in Ukraine Saturday and Sunday.
“Evidently the weakest double was sent to Mariupol,” the video posted by the Daily Mail claims. “They forgot to put in his jaw.”
Putin’s surprise appearance in Ukraine was his first appearance in the Russian-occupied territory since Moscow launched an invasion of the country last year.
Rumors that he uses look-alikes have circulated for years but have never been proven.
After Putin’s visit to Ukraine over the weekend, the country’s military intelligence rep Andriy Yusov quipped that “a man that looks like Putin visited Mariupol.”
