Is Putin using body double to avoid assassins? Chaos deepens as General Armageddon's Wagner links emerge

Russia is said to have plunged into chaos following the aborted Wagner mutiny, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, last weekend. According to reports in Ukraine, a war has broken out between President Vladimir Putin's Federal Security Service (FSB) and Russia's Defence Ministry. Reports also claim that Russia's 'General Armageddon' Sergei Surovikin, who has not been heard from since Saturday, is being held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison after US officials claimed he had supported Prigozhin's march on the capital. Reports also suggest that Russian secret services also foiled a plot to assassinate Putin recently.

Also read: Revealed: REAL reason why Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin went rogue

Could Vladimir Putin be using a body double to evade assassins—and Covid-19, even as chaos deepens in Russia as it emerges arrested General Surovikin was a secret member of Wagner after Prigozhin's failed mutiny?

There have been allegations of plastic surgery, artificial teeth, and faster walking. The Kremlin strongman's evolving appearance over time has drawn attention from observers as potential proof that he utilises someone else to represent him at engagements he either does not want to make or thinks are too risky. 

When Putin, who is said to be down with either cancer or Parkinson's disease, unexpectedly visited Derbent in the Dagestan area of southern Russia, suspicion erupted once more. Video of the visit showed how the autocrat dove into a crowd at night like a Hollywood actor on the red carpet. 

This is in spite of rumours that the Russian president is paranoid about getting Covid-19 and that he only communicates directly with people in his dwindling inner circle because he fears being assassinated. 

Did Federal Protection Service foil Putin's assassination attempt?

Days after the aborted muntiny by Wagner mercenaries, reports on Friday have claimed the secret services thwarted a plot to kill Putin by blowing up his motorcade on a bridge in Moscow.

According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, the Federal Protection Service [FSO] was informed about a barge that was allegedly placing explosives on the Moscow River's bottom. The bridge was not given a name, although it is on the path taken by Putin's motorcade as it travels to and from his official house outside of the city to the Kremlin.

"‌The FSO was checking information about the preparation of an assassination attempt on Putin with the help of explosives at the bottom of the Moskva River, laid down from a barge. A duty officer of the Federal Security Service reported a suspicious barge under the bridge," VChK-OGPU said.

Also read: Vladimir Putin cites 'big friend' Narendra Modi's Make in India idea, says Russia must emulate it (WATCH)

‌The barge was ordered to move ‘due to the movement of motorcades over the bridge’. ‌Immediately afterwards ‘divers began to examine the bottom of the river’.

The FSO, which is in charge of protecting Putin and other senior Russian leaders, reportedly also examined the documentation of the barge's crew. According to reports, the barge was fixing the bridge. No details were provided regarding the discovery of explosives or who might have planned an assassination attempt against the Russian tyrant.

The activity took place across from the former Ukraine Hotel, a Stalin-era skyscraper that is now known as the Radisson Collection Hotel, which is close to the World Trade Centre and the Russian government's White House headquarters.

Putin's FSB 'at war' with Russian Army?

Meanwhile, according to Kyiv, the Wagner group's mutiny has sparked a conflict between Putin's Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Russian Defence Ministry. The weekend's brief uprising headed by mercenary leader Prigozhin, according to Andrii Chernyak of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, exposed the inadequacies of the Russian president.

According to him, this has led to a "open war" between the two Kremlin "towers"—FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu—and that the "liquidation" of each other's employees is likely. 

The Defence Ministry and the FSB headquarters are located just 3 miles away from each other in Moscow's city centre. The head of Ukraine's intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, added that the FSB is also after Prigozhin.

"We are aware that the FSB was charged with a task to assassinate him. Will they be successful in doing that? We'll see with time," he said.

General Armageddon's alleged links with Wagner sparks further chaos

Russian 'General Armageddon' Sergei Surovikin, who is thought to have been imprisoned days after the mercenaries attempted their insurrection, appears to have already been one high-profile victim of the failed uprising. He has not been heard from since Saturday when he appeared in a video calling for an end to the mutiny.

The deputy commander of the Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine is reportedly being imprisoned in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison and is being questioned, according to US sources, who claimed he had supported Prigozhin's march on the city.

A Russian investigative organisation called Dossier Centre asserted that it had discovered documents proving that Surovikin was a covert VIP member of the Wagner group, perhaps confirming reports that he had connections to Wagner.

Surovikin and his close lieutenants have not been in contact with their families for three days, according to Alexei Venediktov, the former head of the Ekho Moskvy, a well-known independent radio station that was shut down by authorities after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Venediktov stopped short of claiming that Surovikin was being held captive, however.

An investigation into claims that some may have sided with Prigozhin was ongoing, according to Rybar, a prominent military messaging service managed by a former press officer for the defence ministry.

Since both Surovikin and Prigozhin were involved in Syria, where Russia has been conducting military operations since 2015 to support Syrian President Bashar Assad's administration and assist him in reclaiming land after a brutal civil war, the two have been associated.

Also read: Belarus president reveals what transpired during call with Putin; confirms Prigozhin is in his country - WATCH

After Moscow withdrew from substantial portions of Ukrainian territory last autumn during a rapid counteroffensive by Kyiv, Surovikin, who earned the moniker "General Armageddon" by Western media for his savage methods in Syria and Ukraine, was credited with fortifying Russian defences.

However, Putin replaced him in January with General Valery Gerasimov, appointing the head of the general staff to lead the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Surovikin was downgraded to Gerasimov's assistant. After the failed rebellion, Gerasimov's own future is also unknown. Shoigu attended multiple events where Putin was present, but Gerasimov did not.

As a result of Wagner's uprising, allegations of internal strife in Russia's defence systems led former US Vice President Mike Pence to proclaim that it is a "open question" if the Russian president has full control of his military. If a purge is in fact underway, it could further weaken unit morale and upset the military's chain of command, which the Russian army cannot afford given the growing number of mutinies and desertions on the front lines.