Paranoid Vladimir Putin never uses the phone and stays in his bunker, defector says

Federal Guard Service Captain Gleb Karakulov, 35, has revealed how paranoid Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin is about his personal safety , and because he is so afraid of being murdered, he stays "in his bunker"

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Protection officer who worked directly for Vladimir Putin leaves Russia calling him a 'war criminal'

A protection officer who worked directly for Vladimir Putin has left Russia calling him a "war criminal".

Gleb Karakulov, 35, is a captain in the Federal Guard Service [known as the FGS or FSO] who escaped via Istanbul to safety.

He revealed that Putin was paranoid about his personal safety and assassination attempts and chose to stay "in his bunker" rather than make trips as before.

He is "deathly afraid" of the Covid and isolates himself for the fourth year.

Yet the dictator appears in good health for a 70-year-old man, testimony that perhaps contradicts repeated claims that he is ill, although it is unclear whether the captain had access to the secrets of Putin's health.

Dossier, an independent outlet - which revealed his testimony - claims that Karakulov is the highest-ranking defector so far from Putin's immediate security circle.

Karakulov would be the highest ranked Russian defector to date (

Picture:

Zuma Press/PA Pictures)

Karakulov - an engineer - from the presidential communications directorate had access to Putin's personal communications, according to Dossier.

He was allegedly responsible for earlier leaks regarding Putin's armored train.

Putin is so concerned about Western eavesdropping that he takes a special box with him on trips abroad to prevent his secret talks from leaking.

His guards - the FSO is also known as the Federal Protective Service and headed by Putin's loyal henchman, Viktor Zolotov - "call him the boss, worship him in every way and don't talk of him only in these terms".