Hours after an unverified Russian Telegram channel claimed the recent public appearances by Vladimir Putin have been carried out by a body double, the Kremlin on Tuesday dismissed rumours that the Russian President was unwell.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also laughed off rumours that he used body doubles to cover for him.
"Everything is fine with him, this is absolutely another fake," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked about the Telegram channel report.
The unsourced report picked up by some media outlets alleged that Putin had suffered a heart attack on Sunday evening.
"This belongs to the category of absurd information hoaxes that a whole series of media discuss with enviable tenacity. This evokes nothing but a smile," Peskov said.
Putin had earlier denied rumours that he uses body doubles. In 2020, he admitted that he was once offered the chance to use a body double due to security issues, reported Reuters.
-- with agency inputs