Russian President Vladimir Putin has cancelled his annual end-of-year press conference, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The event’s cancellation for the first time in ten years has fueled speculation that Vladimir Putin is ill.
According to Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin hopes that Vladimir Putin “will still find an opportunity” to speak with the press soon, but no media event will take place in December, according to Russian state-run news agency TASS.
According to The Sun, Vladimir Putin cancelled the conference because there is a growing sense that Russia’s war in Ukraine is failing, and the Russian leader may be suffering from at least one undisclosed ailment.
Since Russia’s late-February invasion of Ukraine, rumours about Vladimir Putin’s health have intensified. Some media outlets have previously cited videos of the Russian president appearing shaky or tense as evidence that he may have Parkinson’s disease, though some medical experts have disputed the claim.
According to a report published in April, Vladimir Putin was accompanied on trips from 2016 to 2019 by doctors, including a thyroid cancer surgeon. The report also stated that Vladimir Putin may have had surgery several years ago, but it did not specify whether he was diagnosed with cancer or any other illness.
According to Lawrence C. Reardon, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, “Similar tells and rumours have no doubt been investigated by the world’s intelligence agencies’ health divisions. Perhaps Putin staged several of his shirtless vacation episodes riding horses and handling weapons to prove not only that he was young and powerful, but also that he was healthy.”
“This was very unusual behaviour for any world leader, and it was mocked by other G-7 leaders this past February.” Perhaps their levity implied that they were more knowledgeable about Putin’s health. All conjecture, but such behaviour was unusual for Putin and other world leaders,” he added.
