In a shocking statement, Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed Vladimir Putin’s days are almost over following years of speculation concerning the Russian President’s health. The Kremlin has regularly had to come forward with a strong response to the ‘fake news’
Whispers have continued this week surrounding the supposed health concerns of Vladimir Putin, with Volodymyr Zelensky declaring the tyrant “will die soon”. During a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, President of France, Ukrainian leader Zelensky urged the US to “stay strong” following a turbulent Black Sea ceasefire, boldly asserting: “He [Putin] will die soon, and that’s a fact, and it will come to an end.”
Zelensky, 47, did not provide any further details about Putin’s alleged ailments, but this isn’t the first time questions have arisen about his health. And, for years, the 72-year-old Russian president’s administration has strongly denied the claims.
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Just last week, it was reported that Putin had experienced “a mini stroke” after he was seen shaking “uncontrollably” during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Expressing concerns for Putin’s well-being, former Kremlin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov, who worked as the authoritarian leader’s speechwriter during his first two presidential terms, noted that he was exhibiting “the consequences of a mini-stroke.”
Addressing the media on Tuesday, March 18, Gallyamov remarked: “He definitely has some [health] problems. Journalists are writing about cancer, but what we saw back in 2022 looked more like the consequences of a mini-stroke.” Back in November, Putin appeared unable to control his movements while giving an hour-long speech in Astana, Kazakhstan. Footage shows the politician twitching on the podium, with the spasms appearing to spread from his left foot to both legs and feet.
In the same month, during an eight-minute address to the nation about the situation in Ukraine, Putin’s hands appeared to freeze still. This fiery address followed a two-week absence from the public eye, during which time rumours had swelled. And this display did nothing to quell rumours of an illness.
A number of X users noted what they viewed as oddities in the speech, including Putin’s voice and lip movements not matching up and the chair behind him seemingly moving at random. Some noted that his tie also appeared to be blurry. One person posted, “At times, he has a bad tremor. He often grasps a chair or table, etc., likely to keep it from being noticed in that way, too.”
Meanwhile, back in October 2023, a controversial Telegram channel alleged Putin suffered a cardiac arrest and was reportedly found by security to be convulsing in his private bedroom at his Moscow residence. At the time, the Daily Star reported that General SVR Telegram channel, which regularly alleges Putin has terminal cancer, alleged the despot had been found lying on the floor beside an overturned table of food and drinks before being given CPR a nearby room equipped with medical facilities.
The channel, which did not provide any solid proof, claimed: “Doctors performed resuscitation, having previously determined that the president was in cardiac arrest. Help was provided on time, the heart was started, and Putin regained consciousness.” They also alleged that recent appearances made by Putin, including foreign visits, had been staged by a body double or doubles.
Earlier that same month, the same channel claimed the dictator was “imminently” close to death following a “sharp deterioration” in his health. The Kremlin was forced to vehemently deny the allegations, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissing the claims as “fake news”, while laughing off the body double theory.
Peskov said: “He is well – this is no more than just another canard.” The spokesman said: “These [kinds of stories] belong to the category of fake news, discussed with enviable tenacity by a number of media outlets. This brings nothing but a smile [in the Kremlin].”
In April 2022, it was suggested that Putin had Parkinson’s disease after reports noticed he had been unable to stand still during public appearances, with footage showing him twisting his feet and shaking his legs. During a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, Putin was caught on camera twisting his feet. Then he was spotted seemingly unable to stand still, swaying back and forth, and shaking his legs, while presenting the State Prize of the Russian Federation to filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov at the Kremlin.
After examining the footage, Professor Angus Dalgleish of St George’s, University of London, reported to the Mirror at the time: “Tremors would be consistent with Parkinson’s, and certainly the tremors he has in his hands are all consistent with the disease. I would put my money on the fact that he’s got about Parkinson’s.”
In November 2022, reports emerged of the president suffering from pancreatic cancer, with the information shared by General SVR said to have come from leaked Kremlin spy documents. Reports suggested Putin had lost 18lb, while the reported emails also said there were rumours he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
At around this same time, it was reported that Putin had been diagnosed with a schizoaffective disorder after he was spotted at a public event with a blanket covering his legs.
In July 2022, when quizzed about the state of Putin’s health, Kremlin spokesman Peskov stated: “Everything is fine with his health. You know that Ukrainian information specialists, and American and British ones, have been throwing out various fakes about the state of the president’s health in recent months – these are nothing but fakes.”
Two years earlier, in 2020, the Kremlin dismissed rumours that Putin was stepping down due to poor health as “absolute nonsense”, with Peskov insisting: “Everything is fine with the president.” As far back as 2015, Putin hit back at “gossip” over his alleged illness, remarking, “It would be boring without gossip” when pressed by reporters.
That same year, a number of US media outlets reported that Putin was be seriously ill following complications from a secret cosmetic surgery procedure. The Kremlin denied this was the case.
In 2014, the New York Post cited a number of sources, including an anonymous German doctor, who claimed Putin was receiving cancer treatment. In response, as reported by RIA Novosti, Peskov told journalists they should “bite your tongue”, clarifying, “everything’s fine”.
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