Kremlin releases video: Putin drives car around Moscow and meets with former teacher

A video of Russian President Vladimir Putin driving a car around Moscow and meeting his former teacher in a hotel lobby, released by the Kremlin, is seen as a response to Western media citing a report by a European intelligence service that the Russian president has been hiding in bunkers for weeks.

Reuters writes that the Kremlin has questioned the origin of the reports, published ahead of Putin's annual appearance at the Red Square parade on May 9, marking Victory Day over Nazi Germany in World War II, which said that Putin's security had been significantly increased and that he had been leading the war in Ukraine from underground bunkers for weeks due to fears of an assassination attempt or coup.

Russian officials have dismissed the claims as nonsense, and Putin's video, released late Monday night, appears to be a response to both those claims and the long-standing criticism from some of his critics that he is increasingly losing touch with his people.

The video shows a relaxed Putin driving a black Russian SUV with security at the wheel, pulling up in front of a hotel in central Moscow, entering the lobby with a large bouquet of flowers to meet one of his former school teachers.

Dressed in jeans and a light jacket, Putin (73) hugs his former German teacher Vera Gurevich (92), who kisses him repeatedly on both cheeks and whispers something in his ear.

Putin, who started school in what was then Leningrad in 1960, is seen in the second frame of the video chatting about the weather with a seemingly random passerby who is entering the hotel lobby with his family.

At the end of the video, Putin helps his former teacher into his car and takes her to dinner in the Kremlin.

Putin invited teacher Gurevich to the annual parade on Red Square and to stay in Moscow for several days enjoying the cultural program, the Kremlin announced.

Putin, who has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, has seen his approval ratings fall in recent months but remains high in state polls. His current term ends in 2030.

Russia's economic growth forecasts for this year have been sharply reduced, and there are signs that citizens are dissatisfied with a number of their problems, as well as the growing crackdown on the internet.

Putin said on Saturday that he believes the war in Ukraine is coming to an end. Just hours earlier, at the smallest Victory Day parade, he had vowed victory in Ukraine.