Is Putin dead or alive? Outlandish claims Russian leader's ‘corpse was placed in a freezer’ surface

Rumours about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health have been increasing in gravity since a Telegram channel announced he had suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday 22 October. This morning, on Friday 27 October, the same channel has now claimed that Putin died last night.

This, as with all other reports about the alleged cardiac arrest and usage of body doubles, has been firmly rejected by the Kremlin. Indeed, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media RIA Novosti that the claim was an 'absurd information canard'. Let’s get into the details.

Putin’s death announcement

General SVR, the Telegram channel that claims to have insider Kremlin information and has been issuing warnings about Putin’s health for months, posted on X this morning. The post claimed that Putin’s health ‘began to deteriorate sharply’ yesterday evening:

At about 20.00 Moscow time, the attendants called an additional brigade of doctors who, upon arrival, after fifteen minutes, began to resuscitate the president.

By that time, Putin’s condition was critical. At 20.42 Moscow time, doctors stopped resuscitation and stated the death of the president.

The channel has since posted an update, which seem to get even more outlandish every time:

Putin's corpse was placed in a freezer, where deep-frozen food was previously stored, at the presidential residence in Valdai.

Medics involved in Putin's treatment and resuscitation have been distributed to several rooms in the residence and continue to be held by the president's security service.

Reactions to Putin’s death announcement

Yesterday evening, the Telegram channel set the scene for its following death report today. It claimed that Putin was in critical condition:

The attending doctors say that a miracle will not happen and are preparing loved ones for the worst outcome.

However, no proof has been issued that support any of these claims about Putin’s ill health or indeed his demise.

Anton Gerashchenko, Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and self-declared ‘enemy of Russian propaganda’ is less than convinced. He posted on X this morning:

Yesterday, many people popped open their champagne open as a Russian Telegram channel reported Putin's death. This was shared by many other media.

Peskov called these rumors "absurd". My champagne remains unopened for now.

The story is ongoing, and General SVR promises to keep us informed ‘as the information arrives’.

Read more:

⋙ Putin is ‘aging’: Russian ex-propagandist reveals when Russia is likely to ‘collapse’

⋙ Vladimir Putin: New calendar of Russian leader sparks health concerns for this bizarre reason

⋙ Putin humiliated in front of his ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping in Beijing

Sources used:

X: General SVR

Mirror: Russia denies reports Vladimir Putin died from cancer today calling it 'absurd information'

Daily Mail: Vladimir Putin is NOT dead: Kremlin issues extraordinary denial to 'lies' that Russian tyrant, 71, 'died at his luxury Valdai forest palace' - amid claims a 'coup' was underway in Moscow

Express: Vladimir Putin's doctors claim 'miracle will not happen' as health 'worsens' in 24 hours