Vladimir Putin's health questioned again after constant coughing during New Year's Eve speech

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his nation on Saturday on the eve of the New Year in what many analysts have described as a 'depressing' speech that was also ruined by a strong cough.

Annual New Year’s Eve address

Putin follows a tradition of addressing the Russian people every New Year’s Eve. This year was different, however, as the centre stage of his speech was the Ukraine war, which Russia is clearly losing.

10 months into the war, Putin has reportedly lost more than 100,000 soldiers in Ukraine and Western sanctions have crippled the Russian economy.

Despite this, Putin is not appearing to back down. In his address, he called the ongoing war‘a sacred duty’ for the Russian people, and a battle for Russia’s sovereignty, Newsweek reports.

In his speech, Putin also complained about Western sanctions, Mirror reports:

But this year a sanctions war was declared on us, they expected the destruction of the Russian Federation, but this did not happen. We have a margin of safety. We have become an example for other states that are striving for a multipolar world.

Longest New Year speech, visible health difficulties

The speech by Putin lasted for nine minutes and is the longest on record given by him for any New Year.

During his speech,the Russian President coughed multiple times within a short period, which sparked speculation again about his alleged deteriorating health condition.

Many analysts took to Twitter to comment on the health of Putin. Francis Scarr, a BBC journalist, was the first to react to Putin’s video:

Sam Sokol, a reporter for Hareetz.com, called Putin ‘the sick man of Europe’:

Another user, with thehandle ‘Tiffany’, says whatever condition Putin has, it is advancing:

Sources used:

-Newsweek: ‘Putin's Constant Coughing in NYE Address Spurs More Rumors About His Health’

-Mirror: ‘Coughing Vladimir Putin delivers New Year rant against West 'flanked by actors'