Doctors Reportedly Rush To Putin As He Suffers Coughing Fit And Chest Pain Before Speech On Ukraine War

Russian President Vladimir Putin suffered "chest pains" and "coughing fits" just before his speech on Tuesday, and doctors rushed to his side, Kremlin sources said.

On Wednesday, Putin announced the mobilization of Russian forces. It could see some 300,000 reservists called to the frontline in Ukraine, reported The Sun.

Putin had fallen ill just moments before his speech, according to Telegram channel General SVR, which claims to be run by Kremlin insiders. A post by the channel read that when Putin "came out and preparations for filming began, he began to cough frequently." It further said that many attempts to start recording an appeal "were frustrated due to coughing."

The post, which can't be independently verified, added that after the fourth unsuccessful attempt to record an appeal, "doctors were called to the president, to whom Putin also complained of chest pains." Then the medical experts advised to postpone the shooting and "leave with them for examination, which was done."

In the post, the alleged Kremlin source suggested that Putin might have faked having a health problem in order to buy himself more time and delay the announcement. He was originally due to speak Tuesday evening, but his planned address didn't go ahead that day. No explanation for the delay was given by the Kremlin. The post said that people close to Putin know his "pathological indecision and uncertainty in making decisions, especially key ones."

His address on the escalations of the Ukraine war delayed by 13 hours, reported Mirror. It was said that what added to the delay were objections raised by key Kremlin figures. They are believed to have disagreed with Putin's decision to partially mobilize the Russian people in his faltering invasion.

The General SVR Telegram channel also claimed that three key figures went on to threaten to quit over Putin's dramatic escalation, including Elvira Nabiullina. She is the head of the Russian central bank and has been keeping the economy afloat amid Western sanctions, according to Daily Mail.

Meanwhile, Putin's close ally has launched an attack on the U.K. Sergei Markov, a former member of the Russian Duma, threatened to unleash the country's arsenal of nukes on Western targets, including London. Markov, a close adviser to Putin, blamed the escalating tensions in Ukraine on the actions of the U.K. as well as the U.S.