Commentators on social media have speculated about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health in recent weeks, suggesting the notorious leader appears to be showing signs of fatigue and possible illness amid the ongoing military invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24. .
Recent evidence may offer further support for hitherto unfounded speculation about Putin’s allegedly deteriorating health.
In a recording obtained by New Lines magazine, an oligarch close to the Kremlin can be heard saying that Putin is “very sick with blood cancer.”
The specific type of blood cancer was not specified, the magazine said, noting however that “the recording represents rare testimony from someone with proven ties to the Russian government that their fanatical dictator may well be seriously ill. And the oligarch had no idea he was being recorded.”
Putin, 69, has suffered some injuries throughout his political career, mainly to his back after falling on different occasions, once from a horse and once during a hockey game in 2017.
In more recent videos, the Russian president can be seen limping. A video of a meeting between Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from April showed Putin gripping the table as he seemed uneasy during the meeting. Some have suggested that his condition in the video points to a case of Parkinson’s disease.
Putin is praising Russia’s “liberation” of Mariupol after his forces were completely destroyed during a two-month siege.
He told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to blockade the Azovstal metallurgical plant, where the last Ukrainian troops are hiding, “so that a fly cannot get in.” pic.twitter.com/g2lNd44qXF
– max seddon (@maxseddon) April 21, 2022
The recently revealed dramatic comments were reportedly made during a mid-March meeting between the unnamed Russian oligarch and a person described by the magazine as a “Western venture capitalist” who provided the recording on condition of anonymity.
“He absolutely ruined the economy of Russia, the economy of Ukraine and many other economies, he ruined [them] absolutely,” the Putin oligarch said. “The problem is in his head… A madman can turn the world upside down.”
New Lines claims to know the identity of the oligarch heard speaking on the recording, but said he was hiding his identity due to the high probability that revealing his name would provoke state reprisals against him.
Russian oligarchs have a lot to lose in today’s reality, the magazine noted, citing the alleged attempted poisoning of Russian Jewish billionaire Roman Abramovitch, who showed signs of poisoning while trying to mediate negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
The magazine, however, confirmed that the oligarch was outside Russian territory and had a net worth that placed him on the list of the 200 richest businessmen in Russia.
The oligarch went on to dismiss the Russian war effort in Ukraine and his official pretext of “trying to find Nazis and fascists” in his neighboring country. He personally blamed Putin for the murder of “more than 15,000 Russian soldiers and 4,000 or 5,000 civilians in Ukraine.”
“It’s amazing,” he said. “What for? She killed more people than in 10 years in the [Soviet] Afghan war”.
In this image made from video provided by the Turkish presidency, Russian Roman Abramovich, center, listens to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet for talks in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 29, 2022. ( Turkish Presidency via AP)
The report emphasized that while the recording may serve as the first substantial evidence of Putin’s health condition, it may also be part of a Kremlin-led disinformation campaign, a tactic Russia is well known for using.
“Their instinct is to lie and spread disinformation on the one hand, so this talk may be an effort to divert attention,” John Sipher, a former CIA officer, told New Lines.
“Or, equally likely, we’re seeing glimpses of elite infighting,” Sipher said.
“Putin has long acted as the Kremlin’s de facto mob boss, the arbiter between those fighting for influence or money. Those clans are now positioning themselves to survive no matter how this crisis ends. Leaking Putin’s health crisis, or fabricating one, would be something to gain influence,” the CIA officer noted.
