Who is Gleb Karakulov? Vladimir Putin’s protection officer defects

“It’s time to end this war and stop being silent.” Karakulov worked as an engineer in the department that provided secret communications for Putin and was responsible for setting up secure communications for the Russian president wherever he went. While he was not a confidant of Putin, Karakulov spent years in his service, observing him from 2009 through late 2022 on more than 180 trips abroad. Karakulov said his main reason for leaving was the the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.