In the last year, Russian leader vladimir putin has dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons. His senseless war with Ukraine has caused over 100,000 Russian casualties and turned many remaining allies against him. At the same time, Russia’s poor military performance against Ukraine has effectively proven that Russia, and by extension Putin, are far weaker than they once appeared.
In recent days, a startling new theory has emerged to explain putin’s actions. He seems to be visibly suffering from mysterious illnesses. And some have claimed he is even dying of cancer!
But is putin dying, or is it all a ruse? What are the signs of his sickness, and what does this mean for his ongoing war effort? Keep reading to find out!
A shocking statement caught on tape
In times of war, propaganda runs rampant. So at first glance, it may be easy to dismiss claims that putin is sick or dying. However, sources very close to the Russian leader seem to confirm this.
According to New Lines Magazine, they obtained an audio recording from an oligarch who is very close to the Kremlin. This oligarch went on to say that putin is “very ill with blood cancer.”
By itself, the recording is scant in detail. For example, we don’t know what type of alleged blood cancer this would be. But news that putin is severely ill seems to match up with some of the physical signs of sickness in recent months.
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Physical signs of putin’s illness
vladimir putin has gone out of his way to make himself the focus of his atrocious war on Ukraine. As such, there is more attention on him than perhaps ever before. And this has caused many people to note apparent physical signs of illness putin seems to be experiencing.
What kinds of signs? On the milder end, putin has appeared more bloated recently. Some have suggested this is a side effect of steroid use, possibly to treat some kind of health malady.
During Russia’s Victory Day Parade, some observed that putin seemed to be limping and his hand movements seemed twitchy and erratic. These aren’t exactly smoking guns, but they point to putin being in ill health.
Perhaps the biggest sign of illness includes Putin having to grip the table while looking horribly uncomfortable in a recent meeting. The Russian leader would never willingly show weakness like this, leading many to speculate that he cannot control the illness wracking his body.
Others weigh in on putin’s cancer struggles
Over the years, many have tried to diagnose Putin with a number of illnesses. For example, News.com.au reports claims from Telegram channel General SVR that putin is suffering from “aching…abdominal pain” and that this is due to cancer ravaging his body. However, this same channel has previously claimed putin suffered from things ranging from a schizoaffective disorder to Parkinson’s Disease, so it’s natural to take their claims with a grain of salt.
However, there is some interesting evidence that may corroborate prior and/or current struggles with cancer. For example, Politico reports that the Russian investigative outlet Proekt found evidence that putin was visited by an oncologist 35 times in a four-year period. This resulted in the oncologist staying with putin for a total of 166 days.
Additionally, legendary film director Oliver Stone weighed in on the matter. Stone actually interviewed putin several times before and had insight into his health. And Stone told the podcaster, Lex Fridman, that putin struggled with cancer before, but that the director thought he had “licked” the problem.
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Official denials about health issues
As you can see, there is plenty of speculation about putin’s health. And things have gotten serious enough that they apparently merited an official denial from the government.
Politico reports that Foreign Minister sergey lavrov denied these claims that putin was sick in any way. “You know, president putin appears in public every day. You can see him on the screens, read his speeches, listen to his speeches,” he told the French media outlet TF1.
“I don’t think sane people can discern any sort of symptom of disease in this man.”
As the outlet pointed out, the Russian government has a long history of denying that putin suffered from anything more extreme than a cold. Since we can generally expect the Kremlin to downplay or outright lie about claims regarding putin’s health, it’s difficult to take lavrov’s denial at face value.
putin’s health and war with Ukraine
One of the reasons that claims about putin’s ill health are so captivating is that it may provide an explanation for everyone’s big question: just why the hell did he begin such a costly war with Ukraine in the first place?
The unnamed venture capitalist who leaked the “blood cancer” audio recording to New Lines Magazine may have put it best. “He absolutely ruined Russia’s economy, Ukraine’s economy and many other economies — ruined [them] absolutely,” he said of putin. “The problem is with his head. … One crazy guy can turn the world upside down.”
And the oligarch being secretly recording was even blunter. He blames putin squarely for the extreme loss of life he has caused, including “more than 80,000 Russian soldiers and 6,000 or 7,000 civilians in Ukraine. It’s unbelievable. For what? He killed more people than in 10 years in the [Soviet] Afghan war.”
As Politico reports, former British spy Christoper Steele connected the different dots and found a rather straight line. He claims putin is “seriously ill” and that the sickness was “an element” in why the Russian leader invaded Ukraine.
If putin is secretly dying of cancer, it would explain many of his erratic actions. After all, who isn’t afraid to “turn the world upside down?” Simple: someone who won’t be in this world much longer.
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