"Putin Is Paranoid; He Fears A Mutiny By The Generals."

• 29.09.2026, 12:41

A Ukrainian general explained why the Kremlin leader is hiding in a bunker.

The head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service from 2005 to 2010, Army General Mykola Malomuzh, in an exclusive interview for “Channel 24”, spoke about Vladimir Putin’s fear of a possible mutiny by the generals.

— Let’s move on to the most heavily guarded person in Russia—Vladimir Putin. On September 10, maritime drones attacked Sochi, where one of Putin’s official residences is located. And just a few days later, it became known that a meeting of the popular Valdai Club had been moved from Sochi to the Moscow Region precisely because of the threat of Ukrainian strikes. Does this mean that the war is already directly changing Vladimir Putin’s personal travel patterns?

— To a certain extent, it affects his travel patterns, the holding of meetings, and his ability to live in the comfortable conditions to which he is accustomed. In other words, he can no longer do that.

And his residences—for example, the one in Valdai—have effectively been rendered unusable, while the one in Sochi is already in such a state of disrepair.

And here I’ll say bluntly that Putin restricts himself in every situation when it comes to traveling within Russia, because there’s no certainty that there won’t be a betrayal—even from the security services. Let me emphasize: not just from local officials or support staff. This is the situation that worries Putin today. You see, he’s afraid of everything. He’s afraid of possible assassination attempts, curses, and illness.

According to reports I’ve received through operational channels, he even limits his communication with his inner circle. This consists of two or three people who are more or less in constant contact with him—roughly speaking, the Kovalchuks, Patrushev at times, or a few others.

He keeps others at a distance: if necessary, online or at a general meeting—for example, a Security Council meeting or a meeting of permanent members—where he chairs the session and all security measures have already been put in place. He currently has information that these are our targets for strikes.

That’s why we’re waiting for him there. And now he’s limiting his trips there and the public events he used to hold to promote himself. And why the Moscow Region? Because Putin’s strongest defense resources, including residences protected against nuclear strikes, are located there.

— And the air defense there is good, right?

— Especially around his residence—six rings. Not three, like near Moscow, but six. And most importantly—there are bunkers under Moscow; they’re underground cities.

They ensure his safety from thermonuclear strikes even in the event of a direct hit. It’s a top-secret system, but it’s there. And, of course, he’s now moving even these measures closer to there or directly into separate facilities that are already protected.

So this indicates that he’s already afraid of everything: both special operations and possible missile strikes. Not to mention drones.

— Investigators have uncovered an interesting fact: Putin uses at least three nearly identical offices in different residences. They are so similar that their locations were determined by door handles, wall joints, and other minor details. Why would the security services create such a complex system to conceal the president’s whereabouts?

— I’d say this approach isn’t effective enough, even though the security services often play up security concerns. Even Putin is constantly being fed the idea that an assassination attempt is being plotted against him—which, in this situation, really requires identifying a specific location or facility so that it remains undisclosed.

That’s why the same interior details, the same doorknobs, or whatever else—they’re placed exactly the same way there. The second component is the use of body doubles. They’re definitely deployed, especially at public events, and this mechanism works. And, as a rule, in more strategic operations, where his closest partners are involved, it’s Putin himself.

So we don’t get confused, because people say, “Oh, that’s not Putin there, that’s not Putin.” For example, when he’s chairing a Security Council meeting—say, a military cabinet meeting—it’s usually him, because he can be fully identified.

— People close to Putin understand perfectly well when it’s Putin and when it’s a body double. But can our intelligence services reliably verify that a particular video, meeting, or public event features a body double and not Putin?

— To put it bluntly, it’s no longer just based on specific intelligence from our Main Directorate of External Intelligence (GRU); Budanov and others have identified him, though it wasn’t always explicitly stated that it definitely wasn’t Putin. As a rule, they say: this is one body double, a second, a third. That wasn’t the case. In a number of situations, it was Putin.

In other words, it was difficult to determine that it wasn’t him. Something would change: his gait, for example, or certain gestures, or something else. Putin himself also changed: his mood, and he had some issues with his spine, etc.

That’s why part of our identification process involves verifying that it’s actually him. But even our colleagues, who have a deep understanding of Putin himself—his psychological and physical condition—often get confused. I’ll be blunt: it was very difficult to determine from these videos.

Sometimes a body double will make a slip-up, and then we can say with certainty: that’s a body double. But those are, as a rule, not the kinds of anomalies we allow.

— How difficult is it to accurately determine Putin’s state of health?

— Overall, it’s very difficult, because all the footage they release is always vetted to ensure it creates the desired impression, especially by intelligence agencies and politicians in foreign countries. That’s why Putin is usually shown to be in good health.

The idea is to ensure he is never seen looking dejected, ill, or unable to walk or perform other routine activities. That’s why it’s very difficult to determine his condition when he’s at a distance and the event is online.

For example, during visits to the SCO or meetings with Xi Jinping or Modi. That’s exactly where all the necessary measures can be put in place. There are various methods.

Starting with the external setting and his condition. We can now remotely assess the condition of every person’s cells and determine the prognosis for each organ.

I think the Americans and the Chinese definitely have the situation fully under control, since they carry out this identification with precision.

— There’s another important point here—distinguishing real signals from a possible disinformation campaign. Could the Kremlin also be conducting some kind of disinformation campaign, portraying Putin in a certain way to mislead people?

— Yes, they could very well be doing just that—disinformation campaigns, even showing his condition and the like. But such an objective assessment of his irreplaceable body is still possible.

Even if there is some kind of deception, it will also be uncovered. It will accurately reveal his state of health and the prognosis for the development of a particular illness. From this, we can determine Putin’s life expectancy and how much longer he’ll continue to terrorize us and live under these conditions, assuming no one else eliminates him.