The claim of the alleged death of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was intended to test the reaction of ordinary Russians and is part of a certain scenario, according to a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Andriy Yusov, during an interview on Radio NV.
"This is sweet music for Ukrainian listeners, and there should be good news. However, these are only messages from Russian anonymous Telegram channels. It's an internal story designed for the internal Russian audience. Of course, personally, it doesn't help Putin much because there are many supporters of conspiracy theories in Russia," Yusov explained.
He noted that internal divisions in Russia are spreading in various forms, including such internal information campaigns. Yusov explained that the fundamental goal of such claims is to observe the reaction of Russian society in terms of numbers, dynamics, and the responses of personalities, elites, and the media.
"In this way, the empire built by the work of intelligence services studies how to proceed. It is also a tool to influence Putin himself or a person similar to him. He has to react, and Peskov [Dmitry Peskov, Putin's Press Secretary] has to react and prove that it's not true. So, they are led down a certain corridor. Obviously, this is not the end; it's part of a certain scenario," Yusov said.
