Vladimir Putin seen for first time since Kremlin forced to deny he was DEAD as he visits rocket base

VLADIMIR Putin has been seen for the first time since rumours surrounding his death were denied by the Kremlin.

Snaps of the Russian president were released today as he had a tour of the Rocket and Space Corporation in Korolyov, Moscow Oblast.

Putin was accompanied by Energia CEO Vladimir Solovyov, Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov and Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

It comes after the Kremlin issued an extraordinary message denying Putin was dead earlier this week.

Claims the tyrant had died surfaced in a Telegram channel saying he died at his Valdai palace, just north of Moscow.

The full report in General SVR claimed: “Attention! There is currently an attempted coup in Russia! 

“Russian President Vladimir Putin died this evening at his residence in Valdai at 20:42 Moscow time, doctors stopped resuscitation and pronounced death. 

“Now the doctors are blocked in the room with Putin’s corpse, they are being held by members of the presidential security service on the personal orders of Dmitry Kochnev who is in touch and receives instructions from the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev.”

The incredible statement continued and spoke about what would happen next if the leader had really died.

It said: “Security for the president's double has been beefed up. 

“Active negotiations are underway. 

“Any attempt to pass off a double as the president after Putin’s death is a coup.”

But in an extraordinary denial Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media RIA Novosti that the report was an “absurd information canard”.

Earlier this week Peskov also had to strongly deny rumours that Putin suffered a heart attack, and reinforced that any reports of a doppelganger were false.

People have started to theorise that these fake reports are further evidence of an intense power struggle in Russia as the country struggles in its war with Ukraine. 

The spokesman for this issue said: “These (kinds of stories) belong to the category of fake news, discussed with enviable tenacity by a number of media outlets.

“This brings nothing but a smile (in the Kremlin).”

General SVR has claimed the dictator suffered from cancer and was terminally ill.

They were also one of the first to push the theory that Putin uses a body double.

The head of Ukrainian military intelligence Lt-Gen  Kyrylo Budanov has shockingly alleged the real Putin hasn’t been seen since June 2022. 

He said last month: “The one, who everyone used to know, was last seen around 26 June 2022.”

A recent Japanese TV report cleverly used AI to analyse Putin’s face, walk and voice in multiple recent appearances.

They found that he uses atleast one double and potentially two.

Putin has also brought out his massive "social distancing" table again - leaving a gaping distance between himself and Russia’s religious leaders.

His socially distanced meeting yesterday was a far cry from his recent close up meetings with other officials, fuelling the rumours that the tyrant uses body doubles. 

Formerly when Putin held meetings - famously with the French president Emmanuel Macron, and his military commanders - he did so on a long table sitting much further away than health guidelines recommended.

Back in April he also kept well apart as new ambassadors presented their credentials. 

In the socially distanced meeting, Putin praised the clerics for backing his war in Ukraine - which has seen hundreds of thousands killed since February 2022.

Putin told the religious leaders from several metres away: "I thought it was very important to meet with you.

“I want to thank you all for supporting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and our fighters, their families, all those who are fighting for Russia as part of the special military operation….."

The Russian leader also said he wished to speak about "events in the Middle East", and said "expressed condolences" to families of those who lost loved ones.