"Putin is so afraid..."

"Putin is so afraid..."

According to Vitaly Brizhaty, a former bodyguard of Putin who fled the country and now lives in Ecuador, he described how armed divers were deployed to swim around Putin's private beaches in search of possible assassins.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is so paranoid about being assassinated that he does not allow anyone but one of his bodyguards to use washing machines at his residence in Crimea — and also employs armed divers to scour the waters around his private beaches for possible threats, according to a defector.

The ex-FSO officer claimed that Putin, 70, did not fully trust his own security detail at Olivye, one of his secret estates in Russia-annexed Crimea, and would routinely give false information about his travel plans.

Vitaly Brizhaty, a former dog handler for Russia’s shadowy Federal Protection Service who fled to Ecuador after the start of the Ukraine war, shed light on Putin’s state of mind in a recent interview with the independent Russian television TV Rain.

“This is how much that man fears for his life,” Brizhaty said of the increasingly isolated Russian leader.

Staffers at his estates mostly belong to the security apparatus or have a high security clearance.

“People were told ‘he’s resting at the dacha’ and everybody is running around guarding him but he could be in another place altogether,” said Brizhaty, who previously served at Olivye and described it as a “fantastical place.”

“There are fitness halls, fountains, beautiful parks, tea houses, barbecue zones and its own beach,” he said of the palace, which shares a name with a beloved and ubiquitous Russian potato salad.

According to the whistleblower, Putin’s luxurious dacha functioned like a “mini-city” that had to be stocked with fresh produce and flowers at all times, and staffed 24 hours a day in case the president or a high-ranking guest decided to pay an unexpected visit.

personal safety was Putin’s top priority. Since the start of the war in February 2022, security at Olivye has been significantly stepped up, with the number of guard dogs patrolling the property increasing from two to six.

Staffers were required to hand in their cellphones when arriving at work at the residence, where use of smartphones was strictly forbidden, according to the former officer.

To protect the security-obsessed president from any attempts on his life not only by land but by sea, a team of FSO divers with firearms was tasked with swimming around Putin’s private Black Sea beaches.

“Security there is of the highest order,” Brizhaty confirmed.

“Even the position of washing machine operator had to be staffed by an officer,” Brizhaty said.