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Kremlin Rejects Speculation That Putin Is Ill and Uses Body Doubles 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Kazbek Kokov during a meeting, in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Kazbek Kokov during a meeting, in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Kremlin Rejects Speculation That Putin Is Ill and Uses Body Doubles 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Kazbek Kokov during a meeting, in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Kazbek Kokov during a meeting, in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected speculation about President Vladimir Putin's health, saying he was fit and well.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in a regular call with reporters, also denied suggestions that the president was using body doubles, calling that an "absurd hoax".

Reporters asked Peskov about Putin's health following an unsourced report by a Russian Telegram channel, picked up by some Western media, that the president had suffered a serious health episode on Sunday evening.

Putin, a judo enthusiast who has long cultivated an "action man" image, turned 71 on Oct. 7. He maintains an intensive schedule of meetings and public appearances, many of them televised.

His recent program included a visit to China last week, with stop-offs in two Russian cities on the way back.

In a 2020 interview, Putin denied longstanding rumors that he uses body doubles, although he said he had been offered the chance to use one in the past for security reasons.

In April this year, Peskov said talk of body doubles was "yet another lie" and that Putin was in enviable health.

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India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
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India’s Navy Launches Submarine, Warships to Guard against China’s Presence in Indian Ocean

A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A view of the Indian Navy's three frontline vessels during the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai, India, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

India's navy on Wednesday simultaneously launched a submarine, a destroyer and a frigate built at a state-run shipyard, underscoring the importance of protecting the Indian Ocean region through which 95% of the country's trade moves amid a strong Chinese presence.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Atlantic Ocean’s importance has shifted to the Indian Ocean region, which is becoming a center of international power rivalry.

“India is giving the biggest importance to making its navy powerful to protect its interests,” he said.

“The commissioning of three major naval combatants marks a significant leap forward in realizing India’s vision of becoming a global leader in defense manufacturing and maritime security,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while commissioning the vessels at the state-run Mazagon dockyard in Mumbai.

The situation in the Indian Ocean region is challenging with the Chinese navy, India’s main rival, growing exponentially, said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst.

Bedi said that the INS Vagsheer submarine, the sixth among a French license-built Kalvari (Scorpene)-class conventional diesel-electric submarines, is aimed at replacing aging Indian underwater platforms and plugging serious capability gaps in existing ones. India now has a total of 16 submarines.

The P75 Scorpene submarine project represents India’s growing expertise in submarine construction in collaboration with the Naval Group of France, Bedi said.

India’s defense ministry is expected to conclude a deal for three additional Scorpene submarines to be built in India during Modi’s likely visit to Paris next month to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, the first of these boats, according to the Indian navy, is only likely to be commissioned by 2031.

India commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier in 2022 to counter regional rival China’s much more extensive and growing fleet and expand its indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.

The INS Vikrant, whose name is a Sanskrit word for “powerful” or “courageous,” is India’s second operational aircraft carrier. It joins the Soviet-era INS Vikramaditya, which India purchased from Russia in 2004 to defend the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.