The great-grandson of former Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin has made the unusual claim that Vladimir Putin is secretly dead.
Jacob Jugashvili said the Russian leader has been "replaced by actors" and that the Kremlin has been taken over.
Jugashvili is the son of Yevgeni Jugashvili and grandson of Yakov Iosifovich Dzhugashvili, the eldest son of the Soviet dictator.
He added that the Ukraine war as "illegal" and believes there is no end in sight as Putin is determined to declare victory.
Joseph Stalin served as secretary general of the party's Central Committee from 1922 until his death,
Getty
The 51-year-old told The Sun: "Putin has long disappeared, and instead of him, unknown and unelected persons who seized power in the Kremlin manipulate actors who do not look like Putin.
"The images of real Putin do not match those that appeared since 2002. Also the current Putin does not behave like a high-ranking authority figure. It is very likely that the real Putin is dead."
"To those who might accuse me of conspiracy: conspiracy is what the secret services of all countries are paid for. It's their job."
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov claimed the dictator has at least three, who are kept under strict guard and "constant surveillance" by the Russian Secret Service.
LATEST NEWS FROM THE FRONTLINE IN UKRAINE
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month
Getty
It comes as millions of Russians are taking to the polls for the presidential election, which Putin is expected to win marking a fifth term at the country's helm.
Jugashvili said: "Democracy is just a way of forming the state authorities by means of elections. Is there any guarantee that they will serve the public after they are elected? Absolutely not.
"The only way to prevent the ruling elite from degradation is to give the citizens of the Russian Federation a legitimate opportunity to judge the elected authorities depending on the results of their achievements.
"During the new elections, the people will pass a verdict on the previously elected authorities and in accordance with that verdict punish them or award them.If no verdict gets a majority of votes, the government is replaced without consequences, as it is now.
"The country needs a leader who will give the people of Russia the right to judge him at the end of his term."
Meanwhile, Russia's governing party United Russia said on Saturday that it was facing a widespread denial of service attack, a form of cyberattack that snarls internet use, against its online presence.
Putin, who is running in Russia's presidential election as an independent candidate with United Russia's support, has accused Ukraine of seeking to sabotage the polls.
The regional governor of the Russian border city of Belgorod said that two people were killed and three injured in a Ukrainian missile strike.
