{"slug": "putin-says-ive-never-been-afraid-of-anything", "title": "Putin says ‘I’ve never been afraid of anything’", "summary": "Russian President Vladimir Putin said 'I've never been afraid of anything' during a visit to Novosibirsk, responding to a young scientist's claim that he had nothing to fear from artificial intelligence. Putin also warned that AI could shrink people's brains and divide society into an intellectual elite and button-pressers. The comments came as Putin tours Russian regions amid falling domestic popularity and a Ukrainian drone strike that killed at least 13 people in Tatarstan.", "body_md": "[Vladimir Putin](https://metro.co.uk/tag/vladimir-putin/) was quizzed about his stance on the rising threats facing [Russia](https://metro.co.uk/tag/russia/), sparking a defiant response from the president.\n\nThe Russian president, whose domestic [popularity has been in freefall](https://metro.co.uk/2026/05/20/putin-seen-walking-awkwardly-stepping-a-car-china-summit-28446871/), is touring the vast country in an apparent attempt to claw some of it back.\n\nPutin, who likes to portray a tough guy public image, insisted nothing can shake him during questions from young teachers and students in Novosibirsk in south-central Russia.\n\nDuring conversations with the next generation of scientists, the thorny topic of AI came up.\n\nPutin asked one of the young people: ‘What kind of threat does artificial intelligence pose to us?’\n\n## Sign up for all of the latest stories\n\nStart your day informed with Metro's ** News Updates** newsletter or get\n\n**alerts the moment it happens.**\n\n[Breaking News](https://metro.co.uk/newsletters/breaking-news?ito=news-article&?signup_source=news-article-link)The young scientist replied: ‘I’ll be honest with you, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of.’\n\nThen Putin said: ‘And I’ve never been afraid of anything.’\n\nHe also suggested that AI could turn people’s brains into mush, and divide people into the intellectual elite and those who press the buttons without thinking, First Post reports.\n\nThe 73-year-old said: ‘And their grey matter gradually shrinks, like shagreen leather. Boom-boom, press the buttons, and everything pops out.’\n\nPutin has been travelling the regions of Russia in recent months, showing his face in Tatarstan, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Buryatia, Omsk, and Irkutsk.\n\nHis absence from public in the spring raised questions about his [health](https://metro.co.uk/tag/health-news/)and whereabouts after Putin was not seen for more than two weeks after [Easter](https://metro.co.uk/tag/easter/).\n\nThen at the annual Victory Day parade in May, the president [appeared with a puffy face and swollen cheeks](https://metro.co.uk/2026/05/12/putin-faces-fresh-questions-health-seen-swollen-visibly-aged-face-victory-day-parade-28337177/), prompting questions about his wellbeing.\n\nIn a further blow to Putin, a Ukrainian drone managed to slip through defences and deep inside Russia on Monday night.\n\nThe drone struck more than 680 miles from the border in the Tatarstan region, killing at least 13 people.\n\nAttacks inside Russia stemming from its war against [Ukraine](https://metro.co.uk/tag/ukraine/) spill the conflict deeper onto Putin’s doorstep, risking his popularity even further as the country’s citizens are subjected to the horrors of the fighting.\n\nMeanwhile, Ukrainian president [Volodymyr Zelensky](https://metro.co.uk/tag/volodymyr-zelenskyy/) said in an interview with [Sky News](https://metro.co.uk/tag/sky/) that Putin aims to mobilise up to 500,000 soldiers after the Russian parliamentary elections in September.\n\nZelensky said: ‘He wants to increase mobilisation. Not openly, because he is afraid of his society, but he will do it at the beginning of October, if we don’t cause him problems with logistics, weapons, petrol, diesel, and if our partners don’t impose total sanctions for his aggression.\n\n‘It will be a big problem because he will aim to mobilise from 300,000 to 500,000 people. It’s not that difficult for him to mobilise this number. He will have internal questions about it, because his society is – and I saw the polls – against mobilisation.’\n\n**Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.**\n\n**For more stories like this, **[ check our news page](https://metro.co.uk/news/).\n\nMORE: [Former US Marine reunited with family after Russia releases him from four-year imprisonment](https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/11/former-us-marine-reunited-family-russia-releases-four-year-imprisonment-29355111/?ico=more_text_links)\n\nMORE: [Russians told to ‘stay inside and away from windows’ during Putin visit](https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/11/russians-told-stay-inside-away-windows-putin-visit-29352087/?ico=more_text_links)\n\nMORE: [Two plane passengers ‘spotted running across tarmac to catch departing flight’](https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/09/two-plane-passengers-spotted-running-across-tarmac-catch-departing-flight-29333594/?ico=more_text_links)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/putin-says-ive-never-been-afraid-of-anything", "canonical_source": "https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/12/putin-insists-ive-never-afraid-anything-29357060/", "published_at": "2026-08-12 07:18:14+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-12 07:42:35.224348+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Vladimir Putin", "Russia", "Ukraine", "Volodymyr Zelensky", "Sky News", "Novosibirsk", "Tatarstan"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/putin-says-ive-never-been-afraid-of-anything", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/putin-says-ive-never-been-afraid-of-anything.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/putin-says-ive-never-been-afraid-of-anything.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/putin-says-ive-never-been-afraid-of-anything.jsonld"}}