Russia’s President Vladimir Putin may not be in good health as photos on the internet showed strange marks and colour, according to reports.
Many users online claimed that the photos showed intravenous (IV) track mark. On the other hand, retired British army officer and member of the House of Lords Richard Danatt said that Putin’s health might not be good, a report in UK-based Express said.
“Keen observers now are noticing that his hands are looking pretty black on top, which is a sign of injections going in when other parts of the body can’t take injections,” Lord Dannatt reportedly said.
“It’s interesting to note that, and just to watch whether he is as fit and well as he would like to portray. It’s an interesting area to keep an eye on,” he added.
The photos come amid a US intelligence report, which claimed that Putin may be suffering from an “advanced form of cancer” a few months ago. The assessment also said that the Russian President survived an assassination attempt in March this year.
Vladimir Putin turned 70 last month as he faces the biggest challenge to his chair amid Russia suffering huge losses in Ukraine, triggering the gravest confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Suffering From Both Parkinson’s and Pancreatic Cancer?
A recently released report in Mirror, quoting Kremlin spy documents, claimed that Putin is suffering from both Parkinson’s and pancreatic cancer.
The report said that there were rumours that the Russian president is in poor health for years and he is being followed by a team of doctors who constantly monitor him.
Putin’s inner circle is worried that his “thinness and persistent cough”, the report added.
It went on to say that he lost 18 pounds in recent months and the deteriorating health is becoming noticeable and will be seen by the elites in Russia.
“I can confirm he has been diagnosed with early-stage Parkinson’s disease, but it’s already progressing,” the report quoted Russian security services insider as saying.
Illness reports not new
Ever since Putin ordered his military forces to invade Ukraine on February 24, rumours have been swirling about the state of his health.
Earlier in May, a leaked recording of a Kremlin-linked oligarch suggested that Putin might be seriously ill with blood cancer.
The speculation that government-linked oligarchs were speculating about Putin’s deteriorating health came after video showed the “president coughing and huddled under a blanket” at Russia’s Victory Day parade in May.
The Russian President had a “thick green cover draped over his legs” despite “relatively mild” weather as he watched a military procession in Moscow, a report in The Independent said.
Putin’s State of Mind
Though Kremlin has denied the reports reiterating that Putin is fine, the Kremlin does not have a good track record of being honest about the health of Russian leaders.
The illnesses of previous Soviet leaders including Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko and Boris Yeltsin went undisclosed to the public, a report in The Telegraph said.
Earlier in February, Putin had forced visiting French and German leaders to sit at the far end of a four-metre table, sparking rumours that he was terrified of catching Covid.
This “extreme form” of social distancing as well as “the unexplained bloating of his face” could have been a sign that he is taking steroids for an undisclosed medical condition, a report in Politico claimed.
Read all the Latest Explainers here
Comments
0 comment