Vladimir Putin was in Minsk Friday to discuss the Ukraine’s war and cooperation with ally Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a conference.
WHY PUTIN MET LUKASHENKO
The 71-year-old Russian tyrant was hosted by Lukashenko in the Belarusian capital on Friday, where Putin questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s legitimacy in power, discussed domestic nuclear drills and agreed on continued cooperation with Belarus.
But Putin appeared at a press conference after the meeting looking tired and rundown as Ukraine claimed minor successes in pushing back his shock advances in the Kharkiv region.
Much speculation has been made around the health of Putin, who was sworn in for his fifth term as president in March, some 24 years after he first took office.
WHAT HAPPENED TO PUTIN’S HEALTH?
Rumours about the Russian president’s declining health, mental state and unstable position have swirled since long before he ordered the invasion on February 24, 2022, but the war has appeared to take a toll on Vladimir Vladimirovich.
Footage from official meetings and appearances has shown Putin gripping a table for support, tapping his feet, and looking unsteady as he walked, with his appearance becoming more rounded and puffy over the years.
In December, Putin pulled out from a presidential trip to Pskov at the last minute due to ‘unfavourable flying conditions’ despite weather forecasts suggesting the skies were clear – prompting onlookers to raise questions about his health.
He then shelved a visit to Russia’s biggest tank plant in Nizhny Tagil and also cancelled his usual appearance at an end-of-year meeting of his ministers, before cancelling his traditional December press conference and end-of-year ice hockey game.
In October last year the Kremlin was pressed to deny rumours that Putin had suffered a cardiac arrest, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov judging the speculation ‘fake’.
‘These [kinds of stories] belong to the category of fake news, discussed with enviable tenacity by a number of media outlets. This brings nothing but a smile [in the Kremlin],’ he said at the time.
