In sifting such news as comes out of heavily censored Russia, at least one Kremlin-watcher says a clue has emerged about Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s health that Russia did not want the world to see.
Last week, Putin made a visit to a boot camp where Russian soldiers are being trained. Photos of the visit were disseminated by the Ministry of Defense.
Among them was an image that raised eyebrows — one in which an unusual mark appears on Putin’s right hand as he is shown grasping the arm of a soldier, according to the New York Post.
PUTIN’S HEALTH 🇷🇺
Videos released by 🇷🇺 Government news show what could be track marks, from IVs, on the hand of Putin.
For the same event, the Kremlin released two videos: One with tons of watermarks (making the hand harder to see), the other without any shot of his hand. pic.twitter.com/a1mfs6hOud
— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) October 22, 2022
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“Videos released by [Russian] Government news show what could be track marks, from IVs, on the hand of Putin. For the same event, the Kremlin released two videos: One with tons of watermarks (making the hand harder to see), the other without any shot of his hand,” Kyiv Port journalist Jason Jay Smart tweeted.
Although rumors about Putin are always making the rounds of social media, they have taken on a new intensity with the war in Ukraine.
The 3-shape on Putin’s hand in these vid frames isn’t there in others from the event on zvezdanews (telegram), so I wouldn’t make much of it. But the puffy hands are, and with the same old puffy face seem to confirm long-term steroid use. Can’t be more precise but he is not well https://t.co/9RJB9Zibgv
— Tom Warner (@warnerta) October 21, 2022
Correspondent Tom Warner was reluctant to buy into the IV theory.
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“The 3-shape on Putin’s hand in these vid frames isn’t there in others from the event on zvezdanews (telegram), so I wouldn’t make much of it. But the puffy hands are, and with the same old puffy face seem to confirm long-term steroid use. Can’t be more precise but he is not well,” he tweeted.
As noted in The U.S. Sun, the Telegram channel General SVR has been spreading unconfirmed allegations about Putin’s health.
It claimed at one meeting Putin “complained of aching pain in the abdominal cavity, which could not be quickly stopped, and he held the meeting leaning forward, trying to maintain a natural posture”.
The claim said that Putin has cancer.
“Putin’s oncology is progressing, and despite adequate treatment lately, the pain is not always completely relieved. It must be understood that the deplorable state of the president’s physical and mental health affects the adoption of key decisions,” the unsubstantiated claims said.
The channel most recently claimed that Putin recently took a turn for the worse, according to Australia’s News.com.
It reported people close to Putin believe his “thinness and persistent cough” will be seen by others as a “sign of the leader’s rapidly deteriorating health.”
CIA Director William Burns said this summer that rumors of Putin’s declining health are not accurate, the Post reported.
“There are lots of rumors about President Putin’s health, and as far as we can tell, he’s entirely too healthy,” he said.
