Published June 5, 2024
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has started wearing body armor when out at outdoor public events.
- Officials told The Moscow Times that Putin’s security team had recommended the measure.
- “God protects the cautious,” said one official.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has started wearing body armor at outdoor public events, The Moscow Times reported on Tuesday, citing officials who had seen Putin at these events.
“This year on May 9, the chief was clearly wearing concealed body armor during the parade,” an official said of Putin’s appearance at this year’s Moscow Victory Day parade. “And that precaution, I think, is necessary.”
Putin, who won his fifth term as Russia’s president in March, was seen greeting generals at the annual military parade in a live broadcast on May 9. The 71-year-old’s movements in the video looked rigid, and Putin was seen adjusting his clothing around his right shoulder several times.
“Putin’s upper body frame looks unnatural and his shoulders appear rather wide and square, showing no shape of the back and shoulder blades,” security consultant Jade Miller told The Moscow Times.
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SOURCE: www.businessinsider.com
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Putin surrounded by security guards while laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
Published June 5, 2024
Russia’s special services have ramped up the already strict security measures surrounding President Vladimir Putin to an unprecedented degree, two Russian officials who have been present at many of Putin’s public appearances as well as a source close to the Kremlin told The Moscow Times.
The Kremlin — already on heightened security alert due to its invasion of Ukraine — has been rattled by recent attacks on high-ranking politicians in Europe and Asia and has stepped up Putin’s security in response.
“The Kremlin takes Vladimir Putin’s security very seriously. He is protected by a whole army of visible and invisible guards,” a Russian official who attended the Victory Day parade on May 9 told The Moscow Times.
He, like all Russian sources interviewed for this story, spoke to The Moscow Times on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Among the risk factors for the Kremlin are the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges as well as the risk of Ukrainian drone and sabotage attacks and attacks by Islamist radicals, a second official said.
