Video footage of Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to Crimea has once again sparked speculation that he could be suffering from health problems.
The 70-year-old president appeared on video visiting Sevastopol, Crimea’s largest city that sits on the coast of the Black Sea, and appeared to be limping at some points during the visit.
The trip also marked the 9th anniversary of the annexation of Crimea – a symbolic trip for the Russians, and a significant one given Kyiv’s apparent intention to take back the territory.
On March 20, Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels shared video footage of explosions and gunfire seen and heard in Dzhanjoi.
Ukraine acknowledged the explosions, which destroyed Russian cruise missiles that were being transported through Crimea, though described the incident as “mysterious.”
What Happened In Sevastopol with Putin?
Video footage and photographs show the Russian president, wearing a turtleneck sweater and a jacket, walking indoors with Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, and six bodyguards who appeared to be wearing bulletproof vests.
As Putin walks with the men, he looks to be experiencing discomfort, walking more slowly than he did only days before when he made a public appearance in Moscow.
Putin was reportedly visiting the Tauric Chersonese museum and a children’s art school in the region.
Additional video footage of the Russian president walking outdoors, originally released by the Russian press, was shared on Twitter by Anton Gerashchenko, Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. In the post, Gerashchenko said that Putin was “visibly limping.”
“A visibly limping Putin arrived in occupied Crimea Russian sources report,” Gerashchenko writes.
“Putin’s visit to Sevastopol to «celebrate» the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea Which, by the way, will be one of the items on Putin’s list of accusations at The Hague Court.”
A visibly limping Putin arrived in occupied Crimea
Russian sources report Putin’s visit to Sevastopol to «celebrate» the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea
Which, by the way, will be one of the items on Putin’s list of accusations at The Hague Court. pic.twitter.com/XPJDGqvT9e
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 18, 2023
Is Putin Really Sick?
This is not the first time that Putin’s health has been brought into question. Cancer rumors have been swirling since early last year.
In February, video footage showed the Russian president’s legs twitching and his feet shaking, leading some to speculate that he may be suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.
In August last year, a Russian Telegram channel – rumored to be run by a former Russian insider – claimed that Putin was warned that he could lose access to “life-saving medicines” to treat his “cancer” as a result of sanctions against Russia.
The true state of Putin’s health isn’t known and is unlikely to be revealed willingly by Kremlin officials.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
Corvus
March 21, 2023 at 3:46 pm
We don’t know exactly what it is, but there definitely is something wrong with Putin’s health. If we’re lucky, it will be fatal – the sooner he is gone, the sooner the war would end, as his successor would likely look for a quick way out (and expect to receive some goodwill from the West, in return).
Rick
March 21, 2023 at 9:01 pm
Let’s hope for a longhand painful death.
from Russia with love
March 22, 2023 at 5:21 am
ha ha ha :)))
last year Matyl wrote the same nonsense :)))
better keep an eye on your mummy who can hardly read a piece of paper, unable to find the door and regularly falling from the plane ladders. it’s bad to laugh at sick old people, but you can laugh at Biden. :)))
Arash
March 22, 2023 at 9:33 pm
“Empire of lies” at it again!
Walker
March 23, 2023 at 4:35 am
Die Mother trucker!
Henri
March 23, 2023 at 10:00 am
Rumors of Putin’s bad health have been floating around the internet ever since he tried to take Kyiv.
Fred Wilma
March 24, 2023 at 12:06 am
Who cares… Putin isn’t the Kremlin and his disappearance would arguably make matters worse not better for Russia and the world.
J
March 24, 2023 at 8:58 am
I’m younger than Vlad and I often limp… it’s called getting older. This is silly.
MayNard
March 24, 2023 at 6:54 pm
More non-sense… Just like fat boy from North Korea. Remember how many times his was said to be checking out? Or on his way out?
Cloud William
March 24, 2023 at 7:42 pm
Exactly. Sixty-seven here. I went for a mile-and-a-half walk around a lake today. Limped the whole way. Yoga and blue ice packs can do only so much. Good that there were no pumas about–they’d’ve seen me as easy pickins.
Meanwhile how do we know Putin isn’t faking these symptoms of Parkinson’s and general aging to fool Western observers into believing he’s got one foot in the grave when in fact he’s still strong like bull?
Bonnie Chismar
March 25, 2023 at 1:51 am
My husband who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease for 2 years at the age of 75 had all his symptoms reversed with Ayurveda medicine from natural herbs centre. com after undergoing their Parkinson’s natural protocol. God Bless all Parkinson’s Caregivers. Stay Strong, take small moments throughout the day to thank yourself, to love your self, and pray to whatever faith, star, spiritual force you believe in and ask for strength. I can personally vouch for these remedy but you would probably need to decide what works best for you.
Neil Ross
May 20, 2023 at 6:33 am
From the EIA and IEA:
“Ukraine has seven refineries with a design capacity of 50.4 Mt/y, which is about four times larger than Ukraine’s oil product market. However, the vast majority of this capacity is not currently in use due to a combination of ageing infrastructure, poor economics and damage from warfare in eastern Ukraine.”
“The country produced only 74,000 barrels per day (b/d) of petroleum and other liquids. Ukraine imports most of its petroleum products from Belarus, Russia, and Germany.”
Remember when Caucus oil fueled the Nazi war machine? Not! One of the reasons the Russian offensive failed miserably for the Germans. Truly bizarre. This is not a real war, despite the horrible tragedy of the loss of life and infrastructure in Ukraine.