Vladimir Putin sparks ill health rumours as film shows him wide eyed and pulling faces

 

By – Thiruselvam

---

Vladimir Putin has sparked new rumours about his health after he was seen pulling strange faces at a high-profile meeting.

The Russian despot appeared to be dispense with his usual stony-faced demeanour during a meeting with close ally Aleksandr Lukashenko on Monday, where he repeatedly sprung into wide-eyed gazes and out-of-character facial expressions.

In one clip he can be seen raising his eyebrows in apparent surprise, while in another moment he furrows his brow and smacks his lips together. The meeting itself in St Petersburg saw Putin discuss with the Belarusian leader the current state of the alliance between the two countries, and how the two nations can further their already deep ties.

Putin praised the two countries’ “joint work to minimise damage from illegal Western restrictions”, while Lukashenko pledged that two countries would work closer together on intelligence amid what he described as “powerful information confrontation” with rivals – though said this this was “not close to war”.

But the new footage of Putin’s erratic behaviour is only the latest part in a long line of speculation about his reportedly declining health, with observers previously having suggested he may be suffering from Parkinson’s disease or cancer, among other ailments.

In October, a controversial Telegram channel alleged Putin suffered a cardiac arrest and was reportedly found by security convulsing in his private bedroom – a claim the Kremlin was forced to strongly deny. Then rumours swirled again when drastic reports claimed the dictator had died and his “corpse was placed in a freezer, which previously contained deep-frozen food”. Once again, the Kremlin released a statement to insist he was alive and said: “We have only one Putin.”

Despite the rumours about the 71-year-old’s health, Putin is standing in Russia’s presidential election this March, where he is expected to once again win a comfortable victory as a result of widespread election fraud. Having changed the constitution himself to allow presidents two serve more than two consecutive terms in office, a new election victory would secure him another six years, potentially taking him to a fifth decade in power. He is already Russia’s longest serving leader since Josef Stalin, and has held either the office of president or prime minister continuously since 1999.

Source – THE DAILY MIRROR