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The health of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a topic of immense speculation since he launched an invasion of Ukraine in February.
But according to a spokesperson, Putin is not only in good health but the 69-year-old is in good enough shape to play a game of hockey over the weekend.
In an interview Monday with NBC News from Moscow, Kremlin press secretary Dmitriy Peskov waved off questions about whether Putin was suffering from any illness.
“I can tell you one thing that yesterday, I know, in the afternoon, actually he played hockey. It’s about yesterday, he was playing hockey,” Peskov told NBC’s Keir Simmons in the interview.
The interview came on the heels of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, informally known as “Russian Davos,” where Putin delivered a lengthy speech defending the war in Ukraine and condemning Western sanctions over it. Pointing to the fact Putin spoke for over three hours and then joined a panel discussion, Peskov said this alone was proof Putin is healthy.
“What I suggest is that you watch his performance,” said Peskov. “Just think, if an unhealthy man can perform like that.”
In the wake of the Ukraine invasion, publications across the West and in Russia began questioning whether Putin’s potential health problems played any role in his decision to start the war.
Observers dissected footage of Putin’s public appearance to spot any visual cues for any potential health problems. Others, including Ukrainian intelligence, have openly suggested that Putin may suffer from a form of blood or thyroid cancer. Shortly after the war began, CNN reported that U.S. intelligence was prioritizing efforts to understand Putin’s state of mind but that it has not reached a new comprehensive assessment of any changes to his overall health.
But all of these claims are made based on speculation at best and without citing evidence at worst. None of these rumors have been confirmed and it is unlikely the Kremlin would ever definitively disclose if their leader was in fact seriously ill.
Putin himself however waved off the gossip surrounding his health in St. Petersburg last week with a joke.
“Like Mark Twain once said: ‘The rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated,’” Putin said at a panel discussion, invoking the famous American author.
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