Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has finally commented on the spreading rumors that claim President Vladimir Putin is severely ill and has only three years left to live, calling the speculations false and that there were no signs pointing to any ailment.
Talks about Putin's health and private life are taboo subjects in Russia and are almost never discussed in public. However, reports have started to spread overseas that the Kremlin leader was seriously ill, with some claiming that he is suffering from "blood cancer."
Denial of Putin's Deteriorating Health
Lavrov, answering a question from France's broadcaster TF1, said that "sane people" can see that Putin had no signs of illness or ailment. Russia's top diplomat added that the president, who is turning 70 years old in October, appeared in public "every day."
He said that everyone can watch Putin on screens, read, and listen to his speeches and said that he left it to the conscience of those who spread such rumors. The Russian president, who has been in power for more than two decades, sent military troops to Ukraine on Feb. 24, sending shockwaves around the world, as per the Times of Israel.
The order has been met with sanctions from Western nations that aim to stifle Russia's economy and spending power internationally. They come as Moscow's offensive has resulted in the death of thousands of people, both civilian and military, and sparked the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
The situation comes after a Russian intelligence source claimed that doctors have given Putin a maximum of three years left to live. The FSB officer said that the Kremlin leader had a "severe form of rapidly progressing cancer."
According to Mirror, the officer said that the disease was also causing Putin to lose his sight among other health conditions. He revealed that the Kremlin leader was suffering from headaches and needed pieces of paper with everything written in huge letters to read whenever he appeared on TV.
Several Serious Illnesses
The spy said that each letter was so big that each page can only hold a couple of sentences, noting that Putin's eyesight was seriously worsening. The medical professional also said that the Russian president's limbs were shaking uncontrollably.
Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last week in Sochi and was captured on camera awkwardly twisting his feet while the pair sat down for talks. In the week prior, he was also spotted making odd movements on TV amid reports that he was suffering from Parkinson's and MS on top of cancer.
In a statement, Ukrainian spymaster Kyrylo Budanov said that Putin has several serious illnesses that have caused his health to deteriorate at a rapid pace. The Russian president's terminal prognosis emerged in a secret message from the Russian spy to FSB defector Boris Karpichkov who is now hiding out from the Kremlin leader's assassins in Britain.
Earlier footage also appeared to show Putin's hand shaking while he was gripping a table for support during a meeting broadcast in April. Rumors about the leader's health appear to have originated from the hugely popular Russian Telegram channel General SVR which claimed doctors warned that surgery could incapacitate him for a "short time," Independent reported.
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