Twist surrounding Putin's 'secret' twin boys

New information surrounding Vladimir Putin's 'mistress' and children has revealed a previously unconfirmed detail about his youngest son.

Alina Kabaeva, a former gymnast who represented Russia on several occasions, has been rumoured to be in a relationship with Russia's president for years.

Kabaeva, who is now 38, has reportedly known Putin since she was 18 years old.

Putin was rumoured to have left his wife Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Ocheretnaya for Kabaeva in 2008, The Cut reported. Putin denied such rumours.

In 2014, it was confirmed Putin and Ocheretnaya had divorced. The two had two children together.

Putin and Kabaeva were rumoured to have had a baby boy in 2015 before welcoming twin boys in 2019.

Putin has never officially confirmed his relationship with the former gymnast, and Kabaeva has never publicly confirmed that she has children.

Putin never had twins, source reveals

A source has now come forward to a Swiss newspaper and detailed how Putin enlisted the help of a friend to be there for the birth of his children.

The source, who spoke with SonntagsZeitung, said a gynaecologist based in Switzerland – who has Russian roots – helped Kabaeva birth Putin's sons.

The source revealed that Putin never had twins at all – the secretive birth in 2019 was for one child, not two.

The source confirmed the couple's first child was born in Switzerland in 2015, and the second in Moscow in 2019.

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"Alina's relationship with Putin existed," the source told the publication.

"Their children – two sons – are Putin's children. Alina had no other relationship. That would have been too dangerous for her."

The gynaecologist who was by Kabaeva's side reportedly knew Putin from his youth and moved to Switzerland over 30 years ago, but maintained a "trusting" relationship with Russia's president.

The source apparently knows Kabaeva personally and described her as a "very pleasant woman".

Putin and Kabaeva's relationship was thrust into the spotlight when Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year.

There was speculation she was hiding out in Switzerland with their children, however, SonntagsZeitung reported that Swiss authorities do not believe she has been in the country recently.

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