Ukrainian military intelligence chief Major General Kyrylo Budanov suggested on Ukrainian television this week that Putin’s ears looked different in many of the leader’s public appearances. “The image, say, of the ears, is different. And it’s like a fingerprint, each person’s ear image is unique. It cannot be repeated,” he said, according to a Ukrainian TV account in Newsweek. But Budanov said that wasn’t the only mistake. Putin has been rumored to have a body double for years.SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images Putin is rumored to be seriously ill, although Russia has denied the claims. Getty Images “They [Putin’s body doubles] you have different habits, different mannerisms, different strides, sometimes even different heights if you look closely,” he said. Budanov’s body doubling theory, however, wasn’t the first time the rumor circulated. The International Business Times called it “one of the most unusual conspiracy theories” in 2018, when a Twitter user linked three photos of Putin across time to suggest that the former KGB spy was actually three different people. The Ukrainian leader suggested that Putin could play three different actors. AFP via Getty Images Ukraine’s Military Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov believes Vladimir Putin is using a body-double. Reuters Budanov this week explained the alleged use of body doubles by pointing to widespread speculation that the Russian leader is gravely ill. But the head of the CIA – as well as the head of Britain’s MI6 – disputed those reports recently, telling the Aspen Security Forum last month that the Russian leader is apparently quite healthy.
