As of: February 24, 2024, 12:07 p.m
By: Richard Strobl
Comments
Press
Split
Is Russian President Vladimir Putin suffering from a serious illness?
The former head of MI6 reports on his information.
Moscow – Is Vladimir Putin seriously ill?
This question has been on the minds of many people since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
The Russian president's public appearances are repeatedly analyzed closely.
Twitches in the legs, which Putin apparently tries to calm with his hand, are mentioned again and again.
One of the theories is that Putin is being represented by doppelgangers because of his health problems.
According to the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin is in good health.
It was only in November that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was forced to make a correction after rumors about Putin's alleged heart attack: "Everything is fine with him," he said.
Is Putin sick?
Ex-MI6 boss tells the story
Nevertheless, the rumors persist.
They are based not least on secret service information.
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, had repeatedly claimed that Putin was terminally ill.
Now another secret service expert has commented on the matter and told us off the record.
Vladimir Putin during an interview with US presenter Tucker Carlson.
© IMAGO/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin Pool
In an interview with the British broadcaster
LBC,
Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of the British secret service MI6, was asked how healthy or sick Putin was.
Although he has “no clear answer,” Dearlove said, he still has friends and contacts in Eastern Europe even after his retirement.
They reported to him: “There is something fundamentally wrong with him (Putin, editor) medically.” However, he is not a doctor, added the ex-MI6 boss.
“That’s one of the symptoms”: Ex-secret service chief talks about possible Putin’s illness
Dearlove further explained that Russia's president probably suffers from Parkinson's disease.
There are different degrees of severity and variations in the illness, but: “If the man is paranoid and I think the murder of Navalny could suggest a certain paranoia.
That’s one of the symptoms,” Dearlove said.
It is not the first time that the Parkinson's theory has been raised.
Such speculation also arose after Putin's interview with US presenter Carlson Tucker.
Putin's leg would "cramp" in one place, the British
Daily Mail
reported.
In the scene, Putin then places his left hand on his thigh and appears to press his foot to the ground.
My news
Russia openly threatens to shoot down NATO jets – read “return of particularly aggressive attitude”.
1 hour ago
Big blow for Russia: Ukraine shoots down rare aircraft
High-tech from German forges: New horror for Putin's “strings of pearls” read
Russia escalates tensions on the border with Finland and sends thousands of refugees
Behind the front line: Partisans poison Putin's election fraudsters in Mariupollesen
Germany sends another warship to the Red Sea – frigate “Hamburg” with special armament
“Not every tremor is Parkinson’s,” explained general practitioner Manfred Imbert after the
dpa
reports .
However, this could be a symptom.
Other symptoms include a rigid facial expression, delayed reactions or attacks of dizziness.
In addition, not all experts believe that Putin is ill.
Professor Mark Galeotti told the US portal
Newsweek
that he was “deeply skeptical” that Putin was terminally ill: “There are a lot of rumors, propaganda and wishful thinking.”