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Russian President Vladimir Putin has started wearing bulletproof vests at open-air public events.
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Officials told The Moscow Times that Putin’s security team had recommended the measure.
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“God protects the cautious,” one official said.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has started wearing bulletproof vests at open-air public events, The Moscow Times This was reported on Tuesday, citing officials who had seen Putin at these events.
“This year, on May 9, the chief wore clearly concealed body armor during the parade,” an official said of Putin’s appearance at this year’s parade. Moscow Victory Day parade. “And I think that precaution is necessary.”
Putin, who won his fifth term as president of Russia in March he was seen greeting generals at the annual military parade during a live broadcast on May 9. The 71-year-old’s movements in the video looked stiff, and Putin was seen adjusting his clothes around his right shoulder several times.
“Putin’s upper body looks unnatural and his shoulders appear quite broad and square, without any form of back and shoulder blades,” security adviser Jade Miller told The Moscow Times.
“In my professional opinion, Putin is wearing some form of ballistic protection while participating in the parade,” she said.
According to the Russian newspaper, Putin started donning a bulletproof vest in 2023. Officials told The Moscow Times that Putin’s security team, the Presidential Security Service, had recommended this arrangement.
“God protects the cautious,” said another official.
Representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
This is not the first time reports about Putin have appeared fears about be murdered.
In September, Putin’s former security official, Vitaly Brizhaty, said in an interview with the independent Russian channel TV Rain that Putin once hired armed divers to search his private beach for potential killers.
Brizhaty, who defected to Ecuador after Russia invaded Ukrainesaid Putin was so paranoid that he didn’t allow anyone other than one of his bodyguards to operate his washing machine.
But Putin may not even fully trust his bodyguards, according to Brizhaty, who said the Russian leader often gave his own security service false information about his whereabouts.
“This is how much he fears for his life,” Brizhaty said.
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