His defence minister Sergei Shoigu – who has been mysteriously absent for several weeks sparking rumours about his health – is believed to be in a bunker near Ufa in the Urals, 725 miles east of Moscow, said investigative journalist Christo Grozev.

This theory is backed by his daughter Ksenia Shoigu, 31, visiting Ufa – where she was pictured – for up to three days from March 22 as speculation was rife that the defence minister had suffered heart problems…

He believed Putin had another bunker elsewhere: “Most likely he is elsewhere, because we are seeing other flights, and they are more classified than the flight that goes to Ufa.

“These are state planes, and they switch off their transponders somewhere around Surgut.”