Putin visited Kursk last week. Photo: Kremlin Via AP
President Putin's helicopter ended up in the middle of a deadly battle between Ukrainian drones and Russian air defenses.
That's what the Kremlin claims.
But according to sources inside the Russian regime, it was all a carefully studied PR coup, writes The Moscow Times.
Quick versionThe Defense Ministry's press release to state-controlled media was dramatic.
During a visit to the Kursk region on May 20, where Ukraine last year carried out a surprise invasion raid across the border, Putin was reportedly hit by a deadly drone attack.
- The president's helicopter was actually at the center of a massive attack by hostile drones that was repelled, said Yuri Dashkin, head of the Russian air defense, in the press release, according to russian Interfax.
According to the Kremlin, Putin's helicopter was hit by a massive attack by hostile drones. However, Ukraine denies the reports. Photo: Oleg Petrasiuk/AP
Russian coup
He claims that the Ukrainian drone attack increased in strength while Putin was in the air, but that all threats could be defeated.
Ukraine denied the information a couple of days later. According to Kyiv, there were no drones in the air at that location at the time.
Now sources inside the Russian state apparatus tell The Moscow Times that everything was a carefully staged coup by the Kremlin and the security services to "convince the public that Putin is also making sacrifices for the country."
It is reported that the image that the president is also prepared to sacrifice his life in the service is believed to be able to reduce anger in Russia over the ongoing war.
Security guaranteed
- "Dear Russians, look at President Putin. He is also suffering and risking his life. Your problems are trivial. Get together and endure," a Russian official says of the intended message behind the coup to The Moscow Times.
The sources tell the newspaper that Putin's safety was guaranteed in every detail during the quick visit to Kursk.
Inside sources say that the image of Putin being prepared to die in his post is believed to be able to reduce Russians' anger over the war. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
It is said that the president is never in a vulnerable position when he is in the air. He is followed by fighter jets, among other things.
- If this had really happened, the president would not only have been in danger from enemy drones. There would also have been a risk that his helicopter would have been accidentally shot down by Russian air defenses, says a Russian official.
Replaced by the security service
A strange circumstance is that the Russian journalists who cover the Kremlin and usually follow the president were not invited on this trip. Nor were the Kremlin's own photographers filming his visit.
Instead, people from the security service are said to have been behind the camera in the video clips released by the press service from the visit to Kursk.
Putin in a helicopter. Photo: Mikhail Metzel/AP/Archive
Several people who have participated in events with the president during the year state that the security around him is more extensive than ever.
Every trip that Putin makes involves hundreds of people from various security services and the Interior Ministry.
Fears illness
Several different motorcades, parallel routes to the final destination and alternative planes are used to hide the president's route and prevent possible assassination attempts.
The trips are planned several months in advance and even high-ranking security officials are often unaware of Putin's whereabouts.
- He doesn't even trust his own people. He only trusts his inner circle, Vitaly Brizhaty, who previously worked in the Russian security service, told the newspaper.
Security is also heightened in other ways.
A source tells The Moscow Times that he needed to take a PCR test, not only for Covid but also for the common flu, to get close to Putin during an event earlier this year.
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