Russian President Vladimir Putin was once again seen clutching a table for Dear Life – looking jittery as his veins swelled amid growing speculation about the possibility of his health deteriorating.
The Kremlin leader’s fist was captured in a video captured during a meeting in Moscow with Sergei Kulikov, CEO of RusNano State Corp. , according to Metro UK.
Putin’s awkward appearance reflects his meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in April, when he was seen clutching a desk for support, also with his right hand, while looking puffy.
It comes days after seeing him shivering and struggling to stand during an awards ceremony in the Kremlin, where director Nikita Mikhailov was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation.
Doctors for the 69-year-old strongman have reportedly advised him not to appear in public for “extended time” due to his “unstable health” – a claim made on the Telegram channel General SVR, which is allegedly operated by a Kremlin military source.
The novel claimed that Putin appeared ill – suffering from “acute illness, weakness and dizziness” – after he appeared on a videotape with advisers a few days ago.
Putin has been plagued by rumors that he has cancer, Parkinson’s disease, or early-stage dementia.
“This is not a picture of a healthy Putin, but it appears increasingly frail and barely able to stand erect at a small meeting table,” Professor Eric Posey, a body language expert from Texas Tech University, told The Sun recently.
“Putin’s legs look very skinny, as if he is suffering from weight or muscle loss from an undisclosed disease,” he told outlets. “The puffiness in his face enhances the unhealthy appearance, especially compared to the photos and videos of the Russian premiere a few years ago.”
Meanwhile, a professor of medicine at St George’s University of London told the newspaper he believed Putin had Parkinson’s disease.
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“All this talk of thyroid cancer…if you had it five years ago, I don’t think that would be a problem now,” Professor Angus Dalglish told news outlets.
“I think the only solid piece of evidence that we routinely see is shaking hands and I think that’s something degenerative like Parkinson’s disease,” he said.
“The tremors will be consistent with Parkinson’s disease and certainly the tremors he has in his hands are all consistent with the disease,” Dalglish continued, adding that Putin often appears with a “rigid” face, which is “classic Parkinson’s.”
But Professor David Clark, a defense and security analyst, told Sky News he believed Putin actually “looks fine” – refuting claims that you can diagnose anyone by looking at photos in the media.
“When we see it in these clips we see it ramping up more frequently now that COVID is over and it’s now coming out of the shadows, where it’s been for over two years, making it clear that it’s in control — it all seems like everything,” Clark said.
“I’ve spoken to a number of people who said you can’t detect Parkinson’s from the way he walks, and you can’t detect symptoms of cancer just by looking at pictures,” he told the outlet.
“I think he’s just sick,” Clark added.
“On October 7, he will turn 70. He’s been known to hit Botox really hard, and I always say he’s trying to embalm himself while he’s still alive,” the expert said.
“He’s commuting with doctors, it’s known that there’s a small team of doctors not far away, and he’s said to leave meetings at frequent intervals to go and consult someone,” Clark said.
Putin is said to be bathing in blood extracted from deer antlers, which were cut off as they grew and are still filled with fresh blood, according to the legitimate Russian investigative outlet.
The Kremlin has denied any allegations that Putin’s health is deteriorating.