Putin wearing a "bulletproof vest" to deliver a New Year's message? The Russian presidential press secretary: It's complete nonsense

Source: Global Times

[Global Times special correspondent Liu Yupeng] "This is complete nonsense. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov responded to rumors circulating on social media recently about President Putin wearing a "bulletproof vest" in his New Year's speech.

Russia's TASS news agency reported on the 5th that according to the usual practice, President Putin delivered a brief New Year's speech on state television before midnight on December 31 last year. In a video of 6 minutes and 22 seconds, Putin stands outside with the Kremlin and Moscow's iconic St. Basil's Cathedral in the background. "I look forward to a good turnaround in the coming year that will bring us all together, but we also know that a new beginning cannot be separated from what has happened in the past year," Putin said. ”

According to the report, some netizens commented on social media, claiming that "the president looks a little strange" Some netizens said that President Putin "hides a bulletproof vest" under his coat. Some netizens also said that there was no snow on the roofs of the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral behind Putin, and it snowed heavily in Moscow on New Year's Eve, thus claiming that Putin "used the video of the New Year's speech from previous years" .

Peskov denied the rumors in an interview with the media, and joked that the netizens who spread such rumors may have "drunk too much during the festival."

Rumors about Putin have come out from time to time, and even his State of the Union address cannot escape. According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Bloomberg has said that the drafting of Putin's State of the Union address was carried out in underground bunkers, which shows the high degree of secrecy. In response, Peskov responded: "The place where the State of the Union address was drafted is in the Kremlin, and there is no mystery that a team of experts in various fields, including members of the government, is involved in this work. In December 2020, rumors circulated about Putin's illness, and Peskov responded that the rumors about Putin's health problems were nonsense and that the president was in very good health.