• The Kremlin released a video of Vladimir Putin driving in Moscow and meeting his former school teacher, after Western media reported he spent weeks in bunkers.
  • The reports suggested security around Putin was tightened due to fears of assassination or coup, which Russian officials dismissed as nonsense.
  • The video shows a relaxed Putin in jeans and a light jacket hugging his former teacher Vera Gurevich and driving her to dinner in the Kremlin.
  • Putin invited Gurevich to the Victory Day parade on Red Square, and the Kremlin said she would spend a few days in Moscow with a cultural program.
  • The Russian president, in power since 1999, faces declining ratings and growing discontent over increasing internet censorship.
  • The State Duma faces elections in September amid lowered growth forecasts, and Putin said he believes the war in Ukraine is coming to an end.

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