Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has denied speculation that President Vladimir Putin is ill. In an interview with French television, Lavrov said that the Russian leader appears in public every day and that no sane person can see signs of an illness.
There is growing unverified speculation in foreign media that Putin, who turns 70 this year, may be in poor health. In many places it can be read that the Russian minister may be suffering from cancer.
Lavrov noted that President Putin regularly appears in public. “I don’t think sensible people can see in this person any signs of a disease or ailment,” he told TF1. “You can see the proof of his health on screens, read and listen to his speeches,” he added in a message via Russia’s foreign ministry.
Mental health
British intelligence sources are said to have told the media that Putin had been seriously ill for the past week. However, rumors about the health of the Russian leader, who was long known for his healthy lifestyle and love of sports, have been surfacing for years.
“Western intelligence agencies are closely monitoring President Putin’s health, both mental and physical,” security expert Frank Gardner told the BBC. “That’s not only because he ordered the ill-planned invasion of Ukraine, but also because he has almost sole authority over the use of Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal.” According to Gardner, intelligence agencies need to know whether Putin is on the verge of launching a rambunctious unplanned nuclear attack.
However, according to the security expert, Putin is not mentally weakened: “His animosity towards the West has just increased enormously.”
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