Latest news with #VChK-OGPU
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
New pics show Putin's ‘secret son' Ivan, 10, looking identical to despot as he follows in glam gymnast mum's footsteps
NEW pictures show Vladimir Putin's "secret son" Ivan looking identical to his tyrant dad as he follows in his gymnast mum's footsteps. The young boy, now 10, was born to the Russian dictator's hidden glam lover Alina Kabaeva, 42, an Olympic gold medal-winning rhythmic gymnast. 11 Ivan Putin, the reported secret son of Russian president Vladimir Putin and his gymnast mother Alina Kabaeva Credit: East2West 11 Ivan Putin, front row and centre, the reported secret son of Russian president Vladimir Putin Credit: East2West 11 Ivan Putin, fourth from the left, resembles his tyrant dad Credit: East2West 11 His mum is a rhythmic gymnast Credit: East2West 11 New images appear to show Putin's son at a training session in June 2025 in Valdai, where the tyrant has his favourite palace. And pictures of Ivan in a public gymnastics performance have been revealed by anti-Kremlin Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which in April published the first photos of a child they called 'the loneliest boy in Russia'. The channel wrote: "Ivan is in a team of boy-gymnasts with a separate number within a group performance, and the cameraman's attention is focused on his team. "He took part in a large [performance] called 'Lezginka' at a festival organised by his mother." Unbelievable footage shows him performing as part of the team at the ALINA 2023 event. His mum Alina Kabaeva - a highly decorated rhythmic gymnast - runs an elite gymnastics academy and is behind training sessions in Valdai. The channel added: "From the numerous photos [...] of the sports team for which Ivan competes, you can see that one of its members is not an ordinary boy. 'During performances, training, and other events that take place indoors, there are eight people in the team. 'Alina Kabaeva is often present in the photo of the eight, she is behind one of the boys." The channel said Ivan doesn't appear to have taken part in 'mass events' since 2023, but he still features in his team's pictures. Putin defies Trump's ultimatum and BOMBARDS Ukraine - as Kremlin mouthpiece warns Russia will 'turn Kyiv into Hiroshima' Swiss-born Ivan - who resembles mad Vlad in his Soviet childhood - has a younger brother Vladimir junior, now five, who is yet to be pictured. Ivan, just like his mum, appears to be accomplished as a young gymnast, and competed in the same festival where fellow contestants were from countries like China, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus. A message posted by his club stated their gymnasts showed an 'excellent level of training and the ability to work in a team". It added: "Hours of training and rehearsals were not in vain! We are proud!!" Putin has never confirmed the young family he has with Kabaeva - who is three decades younger than him. However, in a random moment last year, he confessed to watching Russian fairytale movies with '[his] little ones'. Putin told reporters: 'Our historic fairytales and epic tales are being revived. 'I myself sometimes watch these with pleasure with my little ones.' 11 The children are thought to be from the tyrant's relationship with glamorous gymnast partner Alina Kabaeva (pictured) Credit: East2West 11 Ivan Putin, fourth the left, takes part in gymnastic competitions Credit: East2West 11 Swiss-born Ivan has a younger brother called Vladimir Credit: East2West 11 Ivan Putin, third from the left in the front row is pictured alongside his mother, gymnast Alina Kabaeva Credit: East2West 11 Russian president Vladimir Putin seen as primary school pupil, left, and in his early teenage years Credit: East2West A flicker of a smile appeared on the tyrant's face as he mentioned them. Despite Putin and the Kremlin vehemently denying a relationship between him and glamorous Kabaeva, independent Russian journalists have established they have two sons together. Until now, the children have never been seen and live out of sight behind his high-security palace walls. Putin also has another secret daughter Ekaterina Krivonogikh, 22 - aka Luiza Rozova - born to his former mistress, cleaner-turned-multimillionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh, 50. She holds shares in a top bank and owns a prominent St Petersburg strip club. Luiza is known to have lived in the West - in Paris - during the war in Ukraine. Putin is highly secretive about his private life. "I do not permit interference. It must be respected,' divorced Putin barked in one interview. He deplored "those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others' lives'. Kabaeva in 2004 posed almost nude - except for furs - for Maxim magazine in Russia and was described as 'full of sex' by a photographer. Earlier - after being temporarily banned in a doping scandal in 2001 - she was photographed naked but for strategically-placed lilacs as part of a Russian project 'Twelve Months' by Ekaterina Rozhdestvenskaya. Later, she appeared on a Russian show called One Hundred Questions for Adults when she was questioned about her private life by an audience of children. In one clip, was asked by a young boy if she had met her 'ideal man' to which she replied giggling: 'I have.' She was then asked who the mystery man in her life was but would only reveal 'he's a very good man, a great man," adding: "I love him very much". Last year Dossier Centre investigative news outlet confirmed the longstanding speculation that Kabaeva had two sons with Putin. Astonishingly, the boys secretly have had British and New Zealand citizens as governesses, but now due to Putin's war, the Russian ruler recruits South African citizens to teach English to his heirs. The children live under the permanent guard of FSO [Federal Protective Service] officers. 'The brothers have little contact with their peers and see little of their parents, but they appreciate the rare moments they manage to spend with their father,' said Dossier Centre. They don't attend schools and are taught in Putin's palaces like the royal children of the last Russian tsar. Putin's secret lover PUTIN and his alleged gymnast lover were first linked 15 years ago after a report in a Moscow newspaper run by media tycoon and former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev. The despot was still married to his first wife at the time, Lyudmila Putina, whom he later divorced in 2014. Kabaeva, who is 31 years younger than Putin, shot to fame as "Russia's most flexible woman" and went on to become one of Russia's most decorated gymnasts in history. Around the time they first met, Alina was asked on a kids' TV show whether she had found her "ideal man". And without naming the Russian leader, Alina replied giggling: 'I have met him" and added that she was 'so happy'. 'A man, a very good man, a great man," she said, adding: 'I love him very much.' Russian state media bans any mention of links between the two and Putin is said to be ferociously private about their relationship. "I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected,' he barked in one interview. He deplored "those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others' lives' A Moscow source previously told The Sun: 'Putin is an intensely private man - he has been hiding his two adult daughters under fake IDs for years. "Even now, though he talks about them occasionally, he never names them. 'If Alina gave birth to his children, her hiding away might be one of the strongest hints pointing to this. "He is obsessive about the security of his family.' In 2016, Kabaeva appeared in public wearing a ring on her ring finger, which she seemed to attempt to hide from the cameras. She was wearing the ring again during a rare TV interview, where she failed to shed any new light on her alleged relationship with the Kremlin leader, whose name wasn't mentioned. In February 2017, Kabaeva made another public appearance, apparently showing off the ring at a gymnastics tournament in Moscow. Months later, she teased Russians yet again by showing off what appeared to be a wedding ring on an outing in Italy.
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
New pics show Putin's ‘secret son' Ivan, 10, looking identical to despot as he follows in glam gymnast mum's footsteps
NEW pictures show Vladimir Putin's "secret son" Ivan looking identical to his tyrant dad as he follows in his gymnast mum's footsteps. The Advertisement 11 Ivan Putin, the reported secret son of Russian president Vladimir Putin and his gymnast mother Alina Kabaeva Credit: East2West 11 Ivan Putin, front row and centre, the reported secret son of Russian president Vladimir Putin Credit: East2West 11 Ivan Putin, fourth from the left, resembles his tyrant dad Credit: East2West 11 His mum is a rhythmic gymnast Credit: East2West 11 New images appear to show And pictures of Ivan in a public gymnastics performance have been revealed by anti-Kremlin Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which in April published the first photos of a child they called The channel wrote: "Ivan is in a team of boy-gymnasts with a separate number within a group performance, and the cameraman's attention is focused on his team. "He took part in a large [performance] called 'Lezginka' at a festival organised by his mother." Advertisement read more news Unbelievable footage shows him performing as part of the team at the ALINA 2023 event. His The channel added: "From the numerous photos [...] of the sports team for which Ivan competes, you can see that one of its members is not an ordinary boy. 'During performances, training, and other events that take place indoors, there are eight people in the team. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun 'Alina Kabaeva is often present in the photo of the eight, she is behind one of the boys." The channel said Ivan doesn't appear to have taken part in 'mass events' since 2023, but he still features in his team's pictures. Putin defies Trump's ultimatum and BOMBARDS Ukraine - as Kremlin mouthpiece warns Russia will 'turn Kyiv into Hiroshima' Swiss-born Ivan - who resembles mad Vlad in his Soviet childhood - has a younger brother Vladimir junior, now five, who is yet to be pictured. Ivan, just like his mum, appears to be accomplished as a young gymnast, and competed in the same festival where fellow contestants were from countries like China, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Advertisement A message posted by his club stated their gymnasts showed an 'excellent level of training and the ability to work in a team". It added: "Hours of training and rehearsals were not in vain! We are proud!!" Putin has never confirmed the young family he has with Kabaeva - who is three decades younger than him. However, in a random moment last year, he confessed to watching Russian fairytale movies with '[his] little ones'. Advertisement Putin told reporters: 'Our historic fairytales and epic tales are being revived. 'I myself sometimes watch these with pleasure with my little ones.' 11 The children are thought to be from the tyrant's relationship with glamorous gymnast partner Alina Kabaeva (pictured) Credit: East2West 11 Ivan Putin, fourth the left, takes part in gymnastic competitions Credit: East2West Advertisement 11 Swiss-born Ivan has a younger brother called Vladimir Credit: East2West 11 Ivan Putin, third from the left in the front row is pictured alongside his mother, gymnast Alina Kabaeva Credit: East2West 11 Russian president Vladimir Putin seen as primary school pupil, left, and in his early teenage years Credit: East2West A flicker of a smile appeared on the tyrant's face as he mentioned them. Advertisement Despite Putin and the Kremlin vehemently denying a relationship between him and glamorous Kabaeva, independent Russian journalists have established they have two sons together. Until now, the children have never been seen and live out of sight behind his high-security palace walls. Putin also has another secret daughter Ekaterina Krivonogikh, 22 - aka Luiza Rozova - born to his former mistress, cleaner-turned-multimillionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh, 50. She holds shares in a top bank and owns a prominent St Petersburg strip club. Advertisement Luiza is known to have lived in the West - in Paris - during the war in Ukraine. Putin is highly secretive about his private life. "I do not permit interference. It must be respected,' divorced Putin barked in one interview. He deplored "those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others' lives'. Advertisement Kabaeva in 2004 posed almost nude - except for furs - for Maxim magazine in Russia and was described as 'full of sex' by a photographer. Earlier - after being temporarily banned in a doping scandal in 2001 - she was photographed naked but for strategically-placed lilacs as part of a Russian project 'Twelve Months' by Ekaterina Rozhdestvenskaya. Later, she appeared on a Russian show called One Hundred Questions for Adults when she was questioned about her private life by an audience of children. In one clip, was asked by a young boy if she had met her 'ideal man' to which she replied giggling: 'I have.' Advertisement She was then asked who the mystery man in her life was but would only reveal 'he's a very good man, a great man," adding: "I love him very much". Last year Dossier Centre investigative news outlet confirmed the longstanding speculation that Kabaeva had two sons with Putin. Astonishingly, the boys secretly have had British and New Zealand citizens as governesses, but now due to Putin's war, the Russian ruler recruits South African citizens to teach English to his heirs. The children live under the permanent guard of FSO [Federal Protective Service] officers. Advertisement 'The brothers have little contact with their peers and see little of their parents, but they appreciate the rare moments they manage to spend with their father,' said Dossier Centre. They don't attend schools and are taught in Putin's palaces like the royal children of the last Russian tsar. Putin's secret lover PUTIN and his alleged gymnast lover were first linked 15 years ago after a report in a Moscow newspaper run by media tycoon and former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev. The despot was still married to his first wife at the time, Lyudmila Putina, whom he later divorced in 2014. Kabaeva, who is 31 years younger than Putin, shot to fame as "Russia's most flexible woman" and went on to become one of Russia's most decorated gymnasts in history. Around the time they first met, Alina was asked on a kids' TV show whether And without naming the Russian leader, Alina replied giggling: 'I have met him" and added that she was 'so happy'. 'A man, a very good man, a great man," she said, adding: 'I love him very much.' Russian state media bans any mention of links between the two and Putin is said to be ferociously private about their relationship. "I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected,' he barked in one interview. He deplored "those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others' lives' A Moscow source previously told The Sun: 'Putin is an intensely private man - he has been "Even now, though he talks about them occasionally, he never names them. 'If Alina gave birth to his children, "He is obsessive about the security of his family.' In 2016, Kabaeva appeared in public She was In February 2017, Kabaeva made another public appearance, apparently Months later, she teased Russians yet again by showing off what appeared to be a 11 Vladimir Putin's Valdai residence where the children are said to be being raised Credit: East2West
The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
New pics show Putin's ‘secret son' Ivan, 10, looking identical to despot as he follows in glam gymnast mum's footsteps
NEW pictures show Vladimir Putin's "secret son" Ivan looking identical to his tyrant dad as he follows in his gymnast mum's footsteps. The young boy, now 10, was born to the Russian dictator's hidden glam lover Alina Kabaeva, 42, an Olympic gold medal-winning rhythmic gymnast. 11 11 11 11 New images appear to show Putin's son at a training session in June 2025 in Valdai, where the tyrant has his favourite palace. And pictures of Ivan in a public gymnastics performance have been revealed by anti-Kremlin Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which in April published the first photos of a child they called 'the loneliest boy in Russia'. The channel wrote: "Ivan is in a team of boy-gymnasts with a separate number within a group performance, and the cameraman's attention is focused on his team. "He took part in a large [performance] called 'Lezginka' at a festival organised by his mother." Unbelievable footage shows him performing as part of the team at the ALINA 2023 event. His mum Alina Kabaeva - a highly decorated rhythmic gymnast - runs an elite gymnastics academy and is behind training sessions in Valdai. The channel added: "From the numerous photos [...] of the sports team for which Ivan competes, you can see that one of its members is not an ordinary boy. 'During performances, training, and other events that take place indoors, there are eight people in the team. 'Alina Kabaeva is often present in the photo of the eight, she is behind one of the boys." The channel said Ivan doesn't appear to have taken part in 'mass events' since 2023, but he still features in his team's pictures. Swiss-born Ivan - who resembles mad Vlad in his Soviet childhood - has a younger brother Vladimir junior, now five, who is yet to be pictured. Ivan, just like his mum, appears to be accomplished as a young gymnast, and competed in the same festival where fellow contestants were from countries like China, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus. A message posted by his club stated their gymnasts showed an 'excellent level of training and the ability to work in a team". It added: "Hours of training and rehearsals were not in vain! We are proud!!" Putin has never confirmed the young family he has with Kabaeva - who is three decades younger than him. However, in a random moment last year, he confessed to watching Russian fairytale movies with '[his] little ones'. Putin told reporters: 'Our historic fairytales and epic tales are being revived. 'I myself sometimes watch these with pleasure with my little ones.' 11 11 11 11 A flicker of a smile appeared on the tyrant's face as he mentioned them. Despite Putin and the Kremlin vehemently denying a relationship between him and glamorous Kabaeva, independent Russian journalists have established they have two sons together. Until now, the children have never been seen and live out of sight behind his high-security palace walls. Putin also has another secret daughter Ekaterina Krivonogikh, 22 - aka Luiza Rozova - born to his former mistress, cleaner-turned-multimillionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh, 50. She holds shares in a top bank and owns a prominent St Petersburg strip club. Luiza is known to have lived in the West - in Paris - during the war in Ukraine. Putin is highly secretive about his private life. "I do not permit interference. It must be respected,' divorced Putin barked in one interview. He deplored "those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others' lives'. Kabaeva in 2004 posed almost nude - except for furs - for Maxim magazine in Russia and was described as 'full of sex' by a photographer. Earlier - after being temporarily banned in a doping scandal in 2001 - she was photographed naked but for strategically-placed lilacs as part of a Russian project 'Twelve Months' by Ekaterina Rozhdestvenskaya. Later, she appeared on a Russian show called One Hundred Questions for Adults when she was questioned about her private life by an audience of children. In one clip, was asked by a young boy if she had met her 'ideal man' to which she replied giggling: 'I have.' She was then asked who the mystery man in her life was but would only reveal 'he's a very good man, a great man," adding: "I love him very much". Last year Dossier Centre investigative news outlet confirmed the longstanding speculation that Kabaeva had two sons with Putin. Astonishingly, the boys secretly have had British and New Zealand citizens as governesses, but now due to Putin's war, the Russian ruler recruits South African citizens to teach English to his heirs. The children live under the permanent guard of FSO [Federal Protective Service] officers. 'The brothers have little contact with their peers and see little of their parents, but they appreciate the rare moments they manage to spend with their father,' said Dossier Centre. They don't attend schools and are taught in Putin's palaces like the royal children of the last Russian tsar. Putin's secret lover PUTIN and his alleged gymnast lover were first linked 15 years ago after a report in a Moscow newspaper run by media tycoon and former KGB spy Alexander Lebedev. The despot was still married to his first wife at the time, Lyudmila Putina, whom he later divorced in 2014. Kabaeva, who is 31 years younger than Putin, shot to fame as "Russia's most flexible woman" and went on to become one of Russia's most decorated gymnasts in history. Around the time they first met, Alina was asked on a kids' TV show whether she had found her "ideal man". And without naming the Russian leader, Alina replied giggling: 'I have met him" and added that she was 'so happy'. 'A man, a very good man, a great man," she said, adding: 'I love him very much.' Russian state media bans any mention of links between the two and Putin is said to be ferociously private about their relationship. "I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected,' he barked in one interview. He deplored "those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others' lives' A Moscow source previously told The Sun: 'Putin is an intensely private man - he has been hiding his two adult daughters under fake IDs for years. "Even now, though he talks about them occasionally, he never names them. 'If Alina gave birth to his children, her hiding away might be one of the strongest hints pointing to this. "He is obsessive about the security of his family.' In 2016, Kabaeva appeared in public wearing a ring on her ring finger, which she seemed to attempt to hide from the cameras. She was wearing the ring again during a rare TV interview, where she failed to shed any new light on her alleged relationship with the Kremlin leader, whose name wasn't mentioned. In February 2017, Kabaeva made another public appearance, apparently showing off the ring at a gymnastics tournament in Moscow. Months later, she teased Russians yet again by showing off what appeared to be a wedding ring on an outing in Italy. 11
Daily Mirror
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Vladimir Putin urged to hand Kremlin throne to his 'vampire facelift' daughter
Vladimir Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova has no political experience, but is believed to be very close to the Russian president - and cronies want her as the next president Vladimir Putin is coming under pressure to hand over his Kremlin throne to his second daughter, according to a report today. Close cronies say the Russian leader should appoint former high-kicking rock'n'roll dancer, Katerina Tikhonova, 38, as his successor. A royal-style succession has been voiced by Putin 's friend Mikhail Kovalchuk, a physicist and head of the Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading nuclear institute, according to Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which has links to the Russian secret services. The move is said to be backed by his brother Yury Kovalchuk, 73, who is referred to as Putin's "banker", an oligarch seen as controlling the dictator 's purported vast secret fortune. Putin recently admitted he is constantly contemplating who to crown as his heir apparent and successor. "I always think about that," he confessed earlier this month. Tikhonova - a powerful university research boss - has no political experience, but is believed to be very close to Putin. The channel said that its sources revealed that "Mikhail Kovalchuk - with the full support of his brother Yury, who has enormous influence on Putin - has recently been actively promoting his plan for a 'change of power' in the Russian Federation." According to the plan, "the new president of Russia should be Katerina Tikhonova, Vladimir Putin's daughter," the channel has claimed, adding that "interlocutors say that Kovalchuk is now actively convincing both Putin and Tikhonova that this plan is the only correct one." The channel said that Putin, who will turn 73 this year, intends to "raise the issue of a new president" in 2026. The channel also claimed that "Kovalchuk insists that Tikhonova should become the successor, while running as an independent candidate." Tikhonova, head of the Innopraktika Institute in Moscow, has started making conference and TV appearances, but not on a large scale, and until now Putin has insisted his children - he is believed to have five - are not public figures. She is seen as an unofficial integrator of all high-tech companies in Russia and plays a role in sanctions-busting on behalf of her father's regime. Putin has spoken little on his successor and is seen as having blocked the advancement of some candidates during his quarter of a century in power. Many believe he will never give up power voluntarily and end up ruling for life, yet if he moved on, it could help to end the debilitating war against Ukraine. But earlier this month he said: "When I think about this - and I think about it all the time - of course I think that a person should emerge, or better yet several people, so the people have a choice. Someone who could earn that trust from the citizens of the country." He was asked: "But you're constantly observing and assessing the potential of each person, right?" Putin replied. "Yes. That's right." His former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov has highlighted Tikonova's rising profile. "The circle around the president's daughter, Katerina Tikhonova has every chance, given time, to seize power in the country," he said. "It's not the worst-case scenario, though of course things could shift. They are not war enthusiasts, although it's clear they don't openly criticise it. "[Their] idea is that Russia should advance its interests through soft power rather than by waging wars." Her appointment could see Putin become a paramount leader, remaining mostly in the background. Tikhonova is the sister of Maria Vorontsova, 40, Putin's other daughter from his former marriage to ex-first lady Lyudmila, 67, who has remarried. Vorontsova is a leading researcher at the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health of Russia, and an expert on dwarfism. They have a half-sister Luiza, 22, born to Putin's former mistress, a cleaner turned multimillionaire with a net worth of £75 million, named Svetlana Krivonogikh, 50, who holds shares in a top bank and owns a prominent St Petersburg striptease club. Luiza has lived in the West during Putin's war against Ukraine. Luiza has lived in the West during Putin's war against Ukraine. They also have two half brothers - Ivan, ten, and Vladimir junior, six, born to current Putin secret lover Alina Kabaeva, 42, an Olympic Gold medal winning rhythmic gymnast. Earlier there was speculation that Putin might appoint ex-bodyguard Alexei Dyumin, 51, now a top Kremlin aide, who once saved the dictator from a raging brown bear, or Dmitry Patrushev, 47, deputy premier and son of ex-FSB chief and security council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, now also a close advisor. Katerina is married to ballet dancer and artistic director, Igor Zelensky, 55, previously head of the Bavarian State Ballet. At the time, she made regular clandestine trips by private jet to Munich accompanied by state bodyguards. She is known to enjoy "Vampire Facelift", a beauty remedy liked by Kim Kardashian. Her blood was removed, then processed and and injected back under the skin in a treatment costing £4,310 per session. She also underwent Botox procedures and had hyaluronic acid injections to treat frown lines on her forehead and laugh lines on her mouth, say reports. Earlier she was wed to Russia's youngest billionaire Kirill Shamalov, now 43, son of a close Putin crony.
Daily Mirror
06-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Vladimir Putin's electrician for 'secret palace' blown up in 'assassination attempt'
An electrician who worked at a secret palace belonging to Vladimir Putin is reportedly seriously wounded and in a coma after an explosion at his Moscow flat. Mikhail Mukhin, 34, serviced the Valdai residence in north of Moscow which the Russian dictator is said to share with his alleged lover Alina Kabaeva, 41, and their two young children, according to Telegram channel VChK-OGPU. It said details of the explosion, including its cause, were immediately classified but the report said there was a 'smell of gunpowder' at this scene, raising the possibility of an assassination attempt. Three people died in the blast. The victims included nursery school teacher Natalya Leonova, 38. As many as 13 others were wounded according to reports on Monday, which did not mention Mukhin and said a gas explosion caused the blast. Harrowing footage showed the victims of a neighbouring eighth floor flat at the windows as it was engulfed by flames. They were pleading in vain for rescue. The channel reported today: 'All case materials were classified, even doctors were forbidden to discuss the nature of Mikhail's injuries with relatives - he is in a coma.' It stressed 'the cause of the explosion is carefully hidden.' The channel published a picture of a man which it claimed was the palace electrician. 'Mikhail Mukhin, as an invited specialist, was in charge of the work to replace the lighting system in Putin's residence in Valdai at the end of 2024," it reported. "He told his acquaintances that he was again called to the residence in Valdai and that he must definitely go there on Wednesday." But early on Monday, 'a strong explosion thundered in the apartment where Mukhin lived. After the incident, the entrance smelled of gunpowder, not gas.' Mukhin 'received serious injuries and was secretly hospitalised from the scene of the incident, first to [Sklifosovsky Institute for Emergency Medicine] and then transferred to a burn centre.' He was reportedly identified by his ex-partner Yana Tikhomirova, who had moved out of the apartment in the building on General Tyulenev Street two months ago. The channel said Mukhin 'has multiple burns on his body and is in a coma. At the same time, the hair on his head is burnt at the back, and his lungs are not affected.' Reports said that Leonova, 38, a kindergarten teacher, was killed in the explosion along with her son, 19, and mother. Two of Leona's children were hospitalised. Her partner is said to be a fighter in Putin's war, and was away from home. News outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets said the epicentre of the explosion was in a one-room apartment - where Mukhin is believed to have lived - and not in the neighbouring three-room apartment where three people died. Putin, 72, shares the secret Valdai palace retreat, some 230 miles northwest of the Kremlin, with alleged secret lover Kabaeva and their sons Ivan, ten, and Vladimir junior, six. The dictator has never admitted to his relationship with Kabaeva, or his sons, and at the weekend showed Russians his flat in the Kremlin, rather than any of his lavish residences such as the Valdai retreat.
