Putin: Does He Have Serious Health Issues ? Former Russian intelligence officer Gleb Karaulov revealed that Vladimir Putin’s “annual medical checkups” may occur more regularly than the Kremlin purports. According to Newsweek back in April, Putin’s annual doctor’s visit took place in April, not the “late summer/early autumn” timeframe that the Russian president usually subscribes to.
Karakulov served as a captain in the Federal Guard Service and remains the highest ranking Russian official to defect to the West. While rumors regarding Putin’s alleged failing health have existed even prior to the invasion, indications that the President is suffering from an illness have skyrocketed over the last year. Of course, even if Putin was truly terminally ill, the Kremlin would never reveal that information due to its ongoing propaganda efforts.
Below are some ideas and claims that are currently circulating regarding what we know about Putin and his health:
Putin Has ‘Partial Loss of Sensation in His Right Arm and Leg’
Earlier in April, a Russian media outlet which often makes claims regarding Putin’s ailing health reported that the president had received first aid following symptoms of “severe pain, blurred vision and numbness of tongue.” General SVR Telegram channel also reported that the Kremlin leader felt a “partial loss of sensation in his right arm and leg,” necessitating immediate medical treatment.
These remarks follow a series of videos that have circulated on social media, depicting Putin’s unannounced visit to Crimea in late March. The Russian president’s trip to Crimea marked the country’s 9thanniversary of its annexation. In the midst of the ongoing warfare between Moscow and Ukraine, Kyiv intends to attempt to take back the territory. For this reason, even if Putin was truly ill, making the trip remained a priority to fuel the Kremlin’s well-oiled propaganda machine.
Video Footage Fuels Rumors
The circulated footage and imagery of Putin’s trip to Crimea showed the Russian president limping and appearing to be in pain. Sevastopol’s governor Mikhail Razvozhayev and six bodyguards are accompanying the Russian president in available footage of the event. Ukraine’s Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs linked to the video on Twitter, noting that “A visibly limping Putin arrived in occupied Crimea Russian sources report,” Gerashchenko added that “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.”
Cancer Rumors
Obviously, it is in Ukraine’s best interest to spearhead rumors regarding Putin’s health for its own propaganda purposes to weaken the morale of the Russians while bolstering their own. Last year, Ukraine’s military intelligence head told ABC News that the Russian president was suffering from cancer and would die before the war ends.
Interestingly, Denmark’s military intelligence service believes that Putin probably does not have a terminal illness at all. The service told a local newspaper, however, that Putin had likely been given hormone treatment for cancer in the past. If true, “delusions of grandeur are one of the known side-effects of the type of hormone treatment he was on,” according to the intelligence chief.
Regardless of the swirling rumors, the public will never know the reality of Putin’s health situation as long as the president remains in power. A public health scare would obliterate the Kremlin’s ongoing war efforts in Ukraine.
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
From 19FortyFive
A Russian Submarine Accidently ‘Destroyed Itself’
Total Massacre’: Ukraine Footage Shows Russian Cruise Missile Shipment Attacked
