Vladimir Putin has been in the news a lot lately and not just because of the Russia-Ukraine war. Ever since the war started, the rumours about the health of the Kremlin’s leader have become more and more frequent. Several inside sources have come out with claims of different illnesses that Putin might be suffering from. Rumours of thyroid cancer, Parkinson's disease and even blood cancer have been flying around for quite some time now.
Discover our latest podcast
Putin’s live broadcast stopped due to health emergency
According to Kremlin sources, Putin is said to have received urgent medical attention during a defence meeting. The Russian President reportedly experienced ‘acute discomfort, weakness and dizziness’ as he stood up from his desk following a recent video conference with advisers and military leaders.
Following the incident, doctors reportedly advised the Russian President not to make any more 'long' public appearances. TheDaily Mail reported that for the moment these claims have yet to be confirmed and adds that many photos and videos have appeared in recent weeks in which the Russian leader appeared bloated and uncomfortable, suffering from leg tremors or with an unsteady gait.
The Sun also cited the ‘dizziness’ incident as the reason for the abrupt announcement this week about Putin's annual live Direct Line broadcast. It had been postponed with no replacement date set. It was announced that the show would take place in the second half of June or early July, but now no date has been set.
Is Vladimir Putin really suffering from cancer?
The statements were published on the messaging app Telegram on a channel called General SVR, which is suspected to be owned by a ‘Kremlin insider’, according to The Sun. An SVR general who claimed to be an exiled Kremlin lieutenant general, known by the pseudonym Viktor Mikhailovich, apparently hadaccess to information that the Kremlin refused to publish. He was the first to suggest that Putin was suffering from cancer. A few days ago, the general said:
The indefinite postponement of the Direct Line programme is due to Vladimir Putin's unstable health [...] A week ago, the president was preparing to answer questions from Russian citizens at the end of June and beginning of July, but his doctors advised him not to make long public appearances in the near future. Perhaps if Putin's health can be stabilised, the hotline will take place in August...
This is not the first time Vladimir Putin has been filmed acting strangely. During a meeting with the president of Tajikistan, rumours circulated that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease.
This article is translated from Oh!MyMag FR.
Read more:
⋙ Volodymyr Zelenskyy's official advisor reveals the motivations behind Vladimir Putin's decisions
⋙ Vladimir Putin: Russian Foreign Minister shuts down health rumours about the President
⋙ Vladimir Putin: Russian spy claims the President has three years to live