The Kremlin has been forced to rush out a statement denying Vladimir Putin has health problems after he admitted undergoing regular examinations at a Moscow hospital.
The Russian leader, 72, recently spoke in a televised session with health minister Mikhail Murashko aimed at encouraging citizens to have flu jabs.
He said: ‘Doctors at the Central Clinical Hospital, where I undergo all sorts of regular examinations, also recommend getting vaccinated with domestically produced drugs.’
This led to speculation over Putin’s health – which his aides acted quickly to quash.
State news agency TASS was deployed to insist that Putin ‘has no health problems’ as it emphasised his visits to a hospital known as the Kremlin Clinic were for normal check-ups.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: ‘He meant routine medical examinations.’
Putin’s health was the subject of intense speculation several years ago and peaked during the pandemic, when he took exceptional security measures with officials routinely quarantining for two week or longer before seeing him.
This also saw the advent of his notorious long table – when no-one was allowed to sit anywhere near him.
There were reports of him coughing incessantly, and his hands and feet making seemingly involuntary jerky movements.
On several occasions, he appeared to walk with a limp, sparking rumours of several types of cancer and Parkinson’s Disease.
Leaks suggested he regularly travelled with a cancer surgeon in attendance while observers noted lengthy and mysterious absences from view, with pre-recorded meetings broadcast to give the impression he was actively working.
The Kremlin was even forced to deny claims by Telegram channel General SVR and a Russian political analyst Dr Valery Solovey that Putin had died – and been replaced by a younger and fitter body double.
In the past year, Putin has regularly travelled and mingled with people at official and unofficial events.
He also campaigned in a presidential ‘election’ widely seen as rigged so he could not lose.
His health appears to have been far stronger as he undertakes gruelling official itineraries, travelling far more than he did several years ago both within Russia and abroad.
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