MOSCOW: Several rumours about the health of Russian President Vladimir Putin were doing the rounds during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Eventually, startling revelations by a Russian security officer who defected from the country have shed light on the paranoid lifestyle of Putin.

“Putin lives in an information vacuum and does not use mobile phone or internet to get information. “Putin fears assassination plots. He spends most of the time living in a bunker at Russian Embassy in Kazakhstan outfitted with a secure communication line”, said Gleb Karakulov, who was an officer in Putin’s secretive elite personal security force responsible for providing him with encrypted communication.

Declining rumours of Putin being ill, Karakulov said, “There were only one or two business trips that were cancelled because Putin got ill. He has regular check-ups every year and he is in better health than many other people of his age.”

According to the officer, those who work with the Russian President in the same room have to quarantine for two weeks prior. “His lifestyle had altered significantly since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. Putin retreated from most travel and public appearances since then and severely limited the number of people who have personal contact with him”, he added.

Karakulov travelled extensively with Putin from 2009 to late 2022 and has taken more than 180 trips with the Russian President. He made his escape while on one of his many travels with Putin to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. He fled to Turkey along with his family, becoming the highest-ranking intelligence officer to defect to the West.