World
The claims made concerning Vladimir Putin's health, are horrifying and disturbing, as well as impossible to verify.
Updated : Jun 30, 2022, 08:34 PM IST
Russian President Vladimir Putin has a penchant for showing off his physical power and virility. The Chechen city of Grozny had been ravaged under his watch as president, and he was serving his first stint as copilot of a fighter plane when it made an emergency landing there.
The Kremlin's propaganda arsenal no longer features macho displays, but rather carefully curated photographs and films of Putin, raising concerns about the 69-year- old. Over the weekend, the Kremlin took an unusual and surprising stance in reaction to the seemingly never-ending rumour mill regarding Vladimir Putin's health.
After four months of Russian military action in Ukraine, there are indications that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be unwell. Putin's numerous opponents, on the other hand, seem to be willing to accept conspiracy theories of divine wrath or palace coups for his relentless attack on Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin appears in public every day,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview. “You can watch him on screens, read and listen to his performances. I don’t think that sane people can see signs of some kind of illness or poor health.”
Ukraine's military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov has also claimed recently that he thought Putin was gravely sick and that an attempted coup had taken place in the Caucasus region.
According to a former Soviet spy, Vladimir Putin has Parkinson's illness and New Lines Magazine claims to have a video of an oligarch alleging Putin is "very sick with blood cancer." Both accounts remain unconfirmed.
While Boris Yeltsin was seen as a heavy drinker and terrible leader because of his bad health, Vladimir Putin has been depicted in the media as an active athlete since gaining office. But there have been tales of Putin missing for weeks at a time due to injuries sustained when competing in ice hockey and judo in the past.
Putin's uncomfortable body language has been a subject of various stories since the start of the conflict, which suggests that he may be suffering from back discomfort. Some have speculated that the president's hulking stature is due to his public wearing of a body armour.
When Putin seemed to frown in late April at a meeting with Shoigu, speculation about his health condition grew grew. Putin will be 70 in October, and as he grows older, the world will be more concerned about his well-being than ever before.