Christo Grozev, the head of Bellingcat and an investigative journalist, made the assertions. Mr Grozev spoke with the crew of the Russian investigative publication Novaya Gazeta about his insights into Kremlin developments. The interview was not permitted to be published in the newspaper because the Russian authorities overruled it.
A video of the exchange, however, was uploaded to YouTube and disseminated on social media.
Novaya Gazeta suspended operations on Monday after getting several warnings from Roskomnadzor, Russia’s federal media watchdog.
He was also questioned whether he knew anything about what his disappearance from public view may be related to.
“Sergei Shoigu is positioned in bunkers or in one of the Russian governmental sites that cannot be destroyed by a retaliatory strike – for example, after a nuclear strike,” the journalist added.
“This is natural, it is not particularly weird,” he said, “and we are witnessing frequent flights of Kremlin aviation, including such aircraft on which Shoigu was seen to be onboard to Ufa and back.”
According to the expert, these planes began flying only on the first day of the battle, with flights becoming much more frequent from March 2 forward.
“Perhaps he (Shoigu) is someplace in the bunker,” Mr Grozev speculated.
“These flights are conducted in a transparent manner, and the planes’ transponders are not switched off.”
The journalist went on to report that further flights have been observed towards northern Russia, above the Ural Mountains.
Transponders are turned off in the last half hour of these flights, he adds.
“So, it’s conceivable that there are additional, more ‘elite’ and ‘pleasant’ bunkers than those for the general staff,” he stated.
“These deluxe bunkers are also more well-hidden than the one in Ufa.”
When questioned why Russian leaders would hide in bunkers if there was no fear of World War III, the expert answered, “Well, I don’t agree that there is no possibility of a Third World War.”
He then quoted Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s main spokesperson, during an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.
Throughout the interview, Mr. Peskov consistently refused to rule out the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons to combat what Moscow perceived as a “existential danger.”
When asked under what circumstances Putin would deploy Russia’s nuclear capabilities, Peskov responded, “if there is an existential threat to our nation, then it can be.”
