While the Russian leader looked awkward as he came down the steps of his presidential plane in Tehran, Ukrainian sources noted he moved unusually quickly and was more alert than in prior public appearances.
The Russian premier looked animated when greeting the waiting party, before removing his jacket and clambering into a heavily armoured limousine.
Intelligence supremo Major-General Kyrylo Budanov was suspicious in a live interview on Ukraine's 1+1 news channel.
ROSIE O'DONNELL TURNS TIKTOK THERAPIST, GIVES MICHAEL COHEN PUBLIC PEP TALK
Ukrainian reports said Budanov suggested a Putin lookalike could have flown to Tehran to meet with the presidents of Iran and Turkey.
"I will only hint," he announed.
"Please look at the moment of Putin's exit from the plane. Is it Putin at all?"
The Russian leader's visit to Tehran where he met Iran's leadership, plus Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, drew worldwide attention.
A LEGEND'S VIEW: DAME JUDI DENCH BLASTS OVER-CAUTIOUS CULTURE
It is just the second time Putin has been abroad since launching his brutal attack on Ukraine five months ago.
In one video, Erdoğan kept Putin waiting, with the Russian ruler seeming ill at ease as he shuffled his feet and made strange facial movements.
WATCH: EVEN CNN CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT A LIAR MICHAEL COHEN IS!
Yet earlier Ukraine did not suggest this was a Putin double.
At the time, official Anton Gerashchenko posted on Telegram: "Erdogan made Putin wait during the meeting in Tehran."
SHOCKING DETAILS EMERGE IN MYSTERY SURROUNDS BOATING ACCIDENT THAT CLAIMED TEEN BALLERINA’S LIFE
"The whole spectrum of emotions of the humiliated and insulted Führer is on his face."
"The bunker is indeed the best place to stay with such a face."
Ukrainian news agency UNIAN remarked: "The dwarf doesn't like to be disrespected."
RFK JR. TO BIDEN AND TRUMP: ‘MAKE ROOM, BOYS, I’M COMING IN!’
Putin two years ago admitted that officials had considered using doubles, but he claimed the idea was rejected.
"I discarded the idea of any doubles," he announced.
He was advised in the early 2000s when Russia was hit by terrorist attacks that a lookalike should take his place at events where the head of state might be at risk, he stated.
FROM FRONTLINE TO HOME TERROR: HOW PUTIN’S WAR MACHINE IS CREATING DOMESTIC NIGHTMARES
"This was during the toughest time of our war against terrorism," he announced.
Body doubles were reportedly used by former Kremlin leaders, for example longtime Soviet supremos Josef Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev.
IF BIDEN'S BORDER IS "SECURE," THEN WHY IS THE FBI ISSUING THIS ALARMING ALERT?
Meanwhile, a Russian expert on Putin has strongly disputed a CIA claim that the Kremlin leader is "too healthy" and revealing no proof of multiple medical problems.
Political scientist Valery Solovey challenged a claim by CIA director William Burns this week that there was no intelligence to suggest Putin was seriously ill.
GLOVES OFF! INSULTS FLY AS AOC AND MTG TRADE BARBS IN MUST-SEE CONGRESSIONAL MELTDOWN
Solovey, who has long claimed the Russian leader is ailing, announced: "The Americans, the CIA particularly, have information on the real state of health of the Russian president."
"They definitely know that he has serious troubles, including mental ones."
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
