Kremlin Rebuffs Rumors Of Severely Ill Vladimir Putin As Ukraine War Wages On

As Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its fifth month, officials at the Kremlin have openly dismissed the rumors that Russian President Vladimir Putin is gravely ill, denying accounts that they are using technology to cover up the weakening body of the Russian dictator.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied the rumors of sickness during an interview with the French broadcaster TF1, which asked about the strange appearance and mannerisms that Putin appears to have in the footage that has been shown to the public, according to the New York Post.

“I don’t think that sane people can see in this person signs of some kind of illness or ailment,” he said. “You can watch him on screens, read and listen to his speeches. I leave it to the conscience of those who spread such rumors despite daily opportunities to assess how anyone is looking.”

The continued rumors of ill health come as Putin continues to appear sicker in his public media appearances, with some reporting that the Russian dictator had been “deepfaked” into meetings in an attempt to make him look less ill in the public, the Daily Beast reported.

A former officer for the FSB was also reportedly told that Putin only had “two or three years” to live, with his illness being attributed by many, including the former head of MI6 British Intelligence Sir Richard Dearlove, to cancer.

“We are told he is suffering from headaches and when he appears on TV he needs pieces of paper with everything written in huge letters to read what he’s going to say,” the FSB agent said. “They are so big each page can only hold a couple of sentences. His eyesight is seriously worsening.”

During the interview with TF1, Lavrov also hinted that Russia would be willing to negotiate with Ukraine regarding the end of the war as soon as the country forfeits the eastern region of the country which has been plagued with separatists since 2014, calling its liberation an “unconditional priority”.