Vladimir Putin 'moved to bunker' as flu outbreak strikes Kremlin: Report  

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been moved to 'bunker-type premises' due to an outbreak of flu in the Kremlin, UK daily Express reported on Wednesday.

A major flu outbreak has reportedly hit officials in Kremlin. The outbreak has excited Putin's hypochondriac tendencies once again, the report said.

News outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that many presidential officials in the Kremlin were down with flu. The report comes just two days after Putin cancelled his annual year-end press conference for the first time in a decade.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said that the Russian President will not hold the annual news conference. He, however, did not give reasons behind the move. Many believe that it was due to recent setbacks in Ukraine besides the flu that has broken in the city.

UK Defence Ministry said that it will be the first time in 10 years that Putin has not held the annual event, while the usual public phone-in also did not take place this year.

It said the press conference has become a significant fixture in Putin’s calendar of public engagement and has frequently been used as an opportunity to demonstrate the supposed integrity of the Russian President.

"Although questions are almost certainly usually vetted in advance, the cancellation is likely due to increasing concerns about the prevalence of anti-war feeling in Russia," the UK said.

The UK said that Kremlin officials are almost certainly extremely sensitive about the possibility that any event attended by Putin could be hijacked by unsanctioned discussion about the 'special military operation'.

Earlier this month, Ukraine hit two Russian military airfields using long-range bombers - the first such retaliation by Kyiv since the war began in February 2021.  

General SVR Telegram channel said that the recent strike on military airfields deep in Russia has spooked Putin, who may spend the New Year in a bunker east of the Ural Mountains.