OREANDA-NEWS. Russian President Vladimir Putin was vaccinated against coronavirus with the Russian «Sputnik V» vaccine. Putin said this during a conversation with citizens in the «Direct Line» format on Wednesday, June 30.

He noted that he had not disclosed this information until now, because he was «asked not to say which vaccine he was vaccinated with, so as not to cause a competitive advantage». One of the arguments in favor of «Sputnik V» for Putin was that military personnel are being vaccinated in Russia. «And I am still the commander in-chief», he noted.

The Russian president added that, in his opinion, «if you do not get vaccinated, then COVID will not go away», but made a reservation that he opposes mandatory vaccination. «I do not support mandatory vaccination and continue to adhere to this point of view», he stressed.

Commenting on the fact that he, unlike many other world politicians, did not get vaccinated on camera, Putin said: «I hope that the citizens of the country understand that if I said it, it means that I have been vaccinated».

According to the President of the Russian Federation, the number of Russians vaccinated against coronavirus has reached 23 million people at the moment. At the same time, he urged the Russian population to listen to specialists, and not to those who spread rumors. At the same time, Putin stressed that «everything is fine» with Russian vaccines and there were «no such tragic situations in Russia as after the use of AstraZeneca».