Vladimir Putin ‘will die soon, and that’s a fact’ Volodymyr Zelensky declared confidently yesterday.
Though the Ukrainian President did not offer evidence to back up the claim, it may not be as bold a statement as it first appears, with the 72-year-old Russian dictator plagued by rumours of ill health over recent months and years.
Putin’s physical appearance has also come under scrutiny, with pictures earlier this year of him with red eyes and a mystery bruise on his hand fuelling speculation that his health is deteriorating.
Even more shocking images of the Russian leader in recent years have shown him with a prominent scar on his neck – sparking theories that he had undergone surgery for thyroid cancer.
Reports also abounded around the start of the war in Ukraine that he was constantly accompanied by a specialist cancer doctor, while a US intelligence leak also appeared to confirm that he was undergoing chemotherapy.
Other indicators of potential ill health include moments when he has appeared unsteady with his legs buckling, while other clips have seen him gripping a table and tapping his foot.
Experts have speculated that he could be suffering from Parkinson’s – a claim backed up by a former British intelligence chief who said contacts had informed him that something was ‘fundamentally wrong’ medically with the dictator.
In 2022, the Kremlin was forced to deny rumours that Putin soiled himself after falling down a flight of stairs – reportedly defecating ‘involuntarily’ due to ‘cancer affecting his stomach and bowels.’
Moscow has always maintained that its leader is fit and well, and Putin has continued with his attempts to project a strongman image despite his obvious aging and often sickly appearance.
Strange footage shows Vladimir Putin’s legs twitching uncontrollably at a public event in November amid rumours he has Parkinson’s disease
It is not known why the 72-year-old Russian leader has this bruise, but he is believed to have long been in ailing health
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a candle during an Orthodox Easter service at the Christ the Saviour cathedral in Moscow early on April 16, 2023. A prominent ‘scar’ is seen on his neck
Rumours have been circling for years that Putin (pictured gripping table during a meeting last month) has health problems, and they have intensified since he launched invasion of Ukraine
Back in October, Moscow forced to rush out a statement denying Putin has health problems after he admitted undergoing regular examinations at a top Moscow hospital.
The despot was speaking in a televised session with his health minister Mikhail Murashko aimed at encouraging people to have flu jabs.
‘Doctors at the Central Clinical Hospital, where I undergo all sorts of regular examinations, also recommend getting vaccinated with domestically produced drugs,’ said Putin.
This immediately prompted speculation over the despot’s medical condition – which his aides acted quickly to quash.
State news agency TASS insisted that Putin ‘has no health problems’ as it emphasised his visits to a hospital known as the Kremlin Clinic were for normal check-ups.
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: ‘He meant routine medical examinations.’
But then in November, strange footage showed Putin’s legs twitching uncontrollably at a public event amid rumours he has Parkinson’s disease.
He appeared unable to control his movements as he gave an hour-long speech at a podium in Astana, Kazakhstan.
In the clip, the twitching seems to start in his left foot before affecting both his legs and feet.
Putin then took a wider stance but continued to rock back onto his heels and move his legs.
A bloated Vladimir Putin has been seen gripping a table whilst slouching in his chair during a televised meeting with his then-defence minister Sergei Shoigu in 2022
Last year, former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove suggested that Putin ‘probably’ has Parkinson’s disease.
Sir Richard, who was head of the British Secret Intelligence Service when Putin first came to power in 2000, told LBC his contacts believe the Russian President had the disease, which can seriously impact life expectancy.
The former spymaster even suggested that paranoia – a symptom of Parkinson’s – could have contributed to Putin’s decision to dispose of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
He said Parkinson’s ‘of course has different representations, different variations, different seriousness,’ but added: ‘If the man is paranoid – and I think the murder of Navalny might suggest a certain paranoia – that is one of the symptoms.’
Vladimir Putin (pictured) seen calling a 15-year-old girl from Ukraine’s Donetsk region called Arina Porkhal as part of the New Year Tree of Wishes nationwide charity campaign in January
Putin was seen with red eyes during a phone call in January and appeared to be wearing makeup
In May 2022, leaked texts from an FSB officer stated that the Russian president had ‘no more than two to three years’ left to live.
The claim, which emerged as part of a secret message from the Russian agent to fugitive and former FSB agent Boris Karpichkov, reportedly suggested Putin was suffering from a ‘severe form of rapidly progressing cancer‘ and that he was also losing his sight.
Claims of the Russian leader’s terminal illness emerged as part of a secret message from the Russian agent to fugitive and former FSB agent Boris Karpichkov.
The message warned Putin is refusing to wear glasses over fears it would admit a form of weakness, and he is now lashing out at his subordinates with ‘uncontrolled fury’.
Then in June of that year, Ukraine’s intelligence chief Major General Kyrylo Budanov said Kyiv spies who infiltrated the Kremlin found the dictator suffers from multiple ‘grave’ illnesses.
‘Putin doesn’t have a long life ahead of him’, Budanov said, estimating that he would only survive another two years at the most.
The claims came around the time of a famous incident which saw the president slouching in his chair while gripping a table and slurring his words during a meeting with then-Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Putin’s health also came into sharp focus during the pandemic when he took exceptional security measures with officials routinely quarantining for two weeks or longer before seeing him.
The Kremlin was forced to deny Vladimir Putin, 72, has health issues after he said he undergoes ‘all sorts of regular examinations’ at Moscow’s elite Central Clinical Hospital
This also saw the introduction of his notorious long table – seemingly brought in to prevent guests from sitting anywhere near him.
There were reports of him coughing incessantly, and his hands and feet making seemingly involuntary jerky movements, and on several occasions, he has appeared to walk with a limp.
Leaks suggested he regularly travelled with a cancer surgeon in attendance while observers noted lengthy and mysterious absences from view, with ‘canned’ – pre-recorded – meetings broadcast to give the impression he was actively working.
Last October, the General SVR Telegram channel, which regularly alleges Putin is terminally ill with cancer, alleged he suffered a ‘cardiac arrest.’
Vladimir Putin was caught on camera repeatedly itching his face on a visit to Ufa’s new fencing center
The channel said at the time that all recent appearances by the Russian dictator, including foreign visits, have been by a body double or doubles.
It claimed that doctors resuscitated Putin and he was taken to a special intensive care facility at his official residence.
‘Doctors performed resuscitation, having previously determined that the president was in cardiac arrest,’ reported the channel. ‘Help was provided on time, the heart was started and Putin regained consciousness.’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, ‘Everything is fine with him, this is absolutely another fake [rumor].’
‘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].’
Aside from allegations of ill-health, Putin is also rumoured to have undergone repeated botox treatments in an effort to appear youthful, appearing to itch his face in discomfort on a number of occasions.