- Russian President Vladimir Putin has started wearing body armor when out at outdoor public events.
- Officials told The Moscow Times that Putin's security team had recommended the measure.
- "God protects the cautious," said one official.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has started wearing body armor at outdoor public events, The Moscow Times reported on Tuesday, citing officials who had seen Putin at these events.
"This year on May 9, the chief was clearly wearing concealed body armor during the parade," an official said of Putin's appearance at this year's Moscow Victory Day parade. "And that precaution, I think, is necessary."
Putin, who won his fifth term as Russia's president in March, was seen greeting generals at the annual military parade in a live broadcast on May 9. The 71-year-old's movements in the video looked rigid, and Putin was seen adjusting his clothing around his right shoulder several times.
"Putin's upper body frame looks unnatural and his shoulders appear rather wide and square, showing no shape of the back and shoulder blades," security consultant Jade Miller told The Moscow Times.
"In my professional opinion, Putin is wearing some form of ballistic protection during his time attending the parade," she said.
Putin started donning a bulletproof vest in 2023, according to the Russian newspaper. Officials told The Moscow Times that Putin's security team, the Presidential Security Service, had recommended this arrangement.
"God protects the cautious," said another official.
Representatives for the Russian foreign ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
This isn't the first time reports have emerged about Putin's fears of getting assassinated.
In September, Putin's former security officer, Vitaly Brizhaty, said in an interview with independent Russian outlet TV Rain that Putin once hired armed divers to look for potential assassins along his private beach.
Brizhaty, who defected to Ecuador after Russia invaded Ukraine, said that Putin was so paranoid that he didn't allow anyone but one of his bodyguards to operate his washing machine.
But Putin might not even fully trust his bodyguards, per Brizhaty, who said the Russian leader often gave his own security service bogus information about his whereabouts.
"This is how much he fears for his life," Brizhaty said.