Dearlove said there was controversy over Blair's 2000 trip to Moscow to watch War and Peace opera with Putin.
“ [ 177 ] In 2000, Blair went on a trip to Moscow to watch a performance of the War and Peace opera with Vladimir Putin , while he was the acting president of Russia . This meeting was criticised by groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International . [ 179 ] In 2018, Sir Richard Dearlove , former head of MI6, said there was ”
Dearlove alleged a KGB officer approached him in 2000 seeking British help to boost Putin's political profile, which led to Blair's meeting with Putin.
“ over this trip, which helped Putin rise to power. Dearlove also alleged that in 2000, a KGB officer approached him, seeking Britain's help in boosting Putin's political profile, and this was why Blair met Putin in Russia. [ 180 ] Blair also hosted Putin in London in April 2000, despite hesitation towards Putin from other world leaders, and opposition from human rights groups over atrocities committed in Chechnya . Blair told Jim Hoagland of The Washington Post that ”
Dearlove says Putin is losing allies and American deterrence has reasserted itself unexpectedly under Trump.
“He's losing his friends fast. American deterrence, whether we like Trump or not, is suddenly standing up on the world stage in a rather extraordinary way, which probably none of us had imagined would happen.”
Putin would be a drone target for Ukraine if they could determine his exact location quickly enough.
“ he said. But while it's not impossible that someone within Russia may wish to assassinate Putin, there is also one country in particular which could stand to benefit greatly from his assassination - Ukraine. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is continuing to grind on, and on multiple occasions Ukraine has shown that it has the capability to successfully strike targets deep inside Russia, so any occasion where Putin is outdoors particularly could place him at risk falling foul of a drone or missile strike, if Ukrainian intelligence were able to pinpoint where Putin was quickly and precisely enough. “He would be a drone target for the Ukrainians as well, if they could know exactly where he was when,”
Putin requires very high-level security as a high-profile target, making certain protective measures normal for someone in his position.
“ he told The Sun . Advert He explained that s figure such as Putin would require a very high level of security. “It’s almost a normal security measure for somebody like Putin – who is a very high-profile target,”
Putin uses body doubles in certain circumstances as a logical security measure.
“So I think it’s quite logical that in certain circumstances… he uses a body double.”