Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the participants of the Davos conference in Switzerland (Reuters)
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said today (Thursday) that it is possible that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is already dead - this following a wave of new rumors about the deteriorating health of the Russian ruler.
According to several reports in recent months, Putin is suffering from cancer, Parkinson's disease or both.
Those rumors resurfaced today when it was revealed that Putin would not be photographed bare-chested in his traditional immersion in a frozen lake on the occasion of Epiphany, which marks the baptism of Christ and is considered a significant event in Orthodox Christianity - as he has been doing so far every year.
This came just days after a Kremlin official was reported to have claimed that Putin was suffering from "weakness, dizziness and loss of appetite" caused by medication.
Zelensky, speaking to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland these days, took the rumors a step further and suggested that Putin may already be dead.
He said: "Right now I don't understand who I'm supposed to talk to. I'm not sure if the president of Russia who is speaking in front of a green screen is still alive. I don't know if he's still alive or if he's the one who makes decisions, or who even makes the decisions in Russia."
This year, no pictures of Putin being immersed in freezing water were published (Photo: Reuters)
The Kremlin responded to the Ukrainian president's words about Putin - and said that he "exists and will continue to exist".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It is clear that both Russia and Putin are a big problem for Ukraine and for Zelensky. And it is clear that from a purely psychological point of view, Mr. Zelensky would prefer that neither Russia nor Putin exist."
He added that Ukraine should "understand that Russia and Putin exist and will exist."
More on Putin's condition
Putin surrounded himself with actors who pretended to be soldiers - and they accompany him to all events
"Putin was kept alive with the help of Israeli drugs against cancer - to continue the war in Ukraine"
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Watch Zelensky's speech
Peskov also addressed speculation about Putin's absence from the traditional annual ritual of diving into icy water to mark the Orthodox Epiphany.
"Today is the Feast of the Epiphany and the president participated in the epiphany bath in the Moscow region. This time there are no photos or video, but we inform you that he followed his tradition."
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