Rumors concerning the well being of Russian President Vladimir Putin have intensified ever since his nation's internationally-condemned invasion of Ukraine.

Putin has led Russia in a method or one other for round 18 years collectively, wherein time he has been the face of Russia's usually chilly and now outright hostile perspective to the west, establishing—some would say cultivating—what has been described as a "robust man" picture by a number of observers.

But in latest occasions the chief's well being has been thrown into query partly as a result of emergence of movies displaying a shaky or tense-looking Putin, offered by some media shops as a suggestion that he may need Parkinson's illness—although some medical consultants have dismissed the solutions.

One such video that was launched in April and have become well-liked on social media confirmed Putin in a gathering together with his protection minister, Sergei Shoigu. As the 2 males talked, Putin seemed to be gripping the aspect of the desk tightly with one in all his palms.

Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin seen sitting at a gathering on the Kremlin in Moscow on March 2, 2022. Rumors about Putin's well being have unfold in latest weeks.Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty

It sparked a flurry of hypothesis from observers. José Luis Martín Ovejero, a professor of non-verbal communication and public talking, instructed Spanish information outlet AS: "It could possibly be on account of a well being drawback. It is also an involuntary gesture of restraint within the face displaying one thing has made him uncomfortable."

Louise Mensch, a former U.Ok. politician, shared the video claiming that Putin "has Parkinson's illness"—although it ought to be famous that Mensch has a historical past of sharing conspiracy theories on-line and was as soon as described as "the manic queen of conspiracy" by The Instances of London.

Then there was one other video circulating on social media that appeared to indicate Putin displaying what had been described as "leg and hand tremors" forward of a gathering with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Nonetheless, referring to the clip of Putin with Shoigu, U.Ok. neurogeneticist John Hardy instructed German information outlet DW that Putin displayed "no signal of Parkinsonism in my opinion" however acknowledged he "didn't look effectively". Ok. Ray Chaudhuri, a neurologist on the College of London, additionally instructed the outlet that they "can discover no proof" of Parkinsonism in that clip.

Rumors have additionally been stoked by anonymously-run Telegram account Common SVR, which has reported that Putin is because of bear an operation. The account is purportedly run by a former Russian International Intelligence Service official.

Earlier than all this, there have been rumors that Putin had undergone surgical procedure associated to thyroid most cancers—one thing the Kremlin denied as "fiction and untruth.

The Moscow Instances cited an investigative report by Proekt Media that said Putin was accompanied by docs together with a thyroid most cancers surgeon on journeys to his residence in Sochi from 2016 to 2019 and that docs "could have carried out surgical procedure" on him in November 2016.

Nonetheless, Proekt's report didn't immediately state whether or not Putin was identified with most cancers or every other sickness.

It is price noting that Putin's well being has been a topic of hypothesis since effectively earlier than the nation's invasion of Ukraine.

In 2020, British newspaper The Solar steered that Putin could have each most cancers and Parkinson's illness and could possibly be about to step down. The tabloid cited Valery Solovei, who allegedly was once head of the general public relations division on the Moscow State Institute of Inside Relations.

At the moment, the Kremlin dismissed the stories that Putin was unwell and about to stop as "absolute nonsense."