Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the West for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and draws parallels with World War II in his Victory Day speech. Video / ITV News
The Kremlin has addressed ongoing rumours about Russian President Vladimir Putin's supposed ailing health.
Speculation has been rife about the Russian leader's health, with one of the dominant theories being he is suffering from "rapidly progressing cancer".
The relentless speculation has forced the Kremlin to issue a response, with one of Putin's top advisers denying the rumours and claiming any "sane" person could see the 69-year-old is not sick.
"President Vladimir Putin makes public appearances on a daily basis," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a French media outlet.
"You can see him on TV screens, read and listen to his speeches. I don't think that a sane person can suspect any signs of an illness or ailment in this man."
Lavrov added: "I'll leave it on the conscience of those who disseminate such rumours despite daily opportunities for everyone to see how he and others look like."
Top Russian officials usually wouldn't entertain rumours about Putin's health and such a statement is an unusual move for the Kremlin, which has worked hard to cultivate a strong, macho image for the Russian President.
The comment comes amid unsubstantiated claims Putin has "rapidly progressing cancer", is losing his sight and has been given three years to live by doctors.
An FSB (Russian Federal Security Service) officer claimed that the Russian leader was very ill, the Mirror reported.
"He has no more than two to three years to stay alive," the source apparently said.
"We are told he is suffering from headaches and when he appears on TV he needs pieces of paper with everything written in huge letters to read what he's going to say.
"They are so big each page can only hold a couple of sentences. His eyesight is seriously worsening.
"And his limbs are now also shaking uncontrollably."
A cancer diagnosis is one of the main rumours surrounding Putin, though others have also theorised he could be suffering from Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis.
Many claimed these rumours were backed up when vision emerged last week appearing to show Putin grimacing and twitching his way through a meeting with his close ally Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The pair met for talks in the Black Sea city of Sochi, as Putin's invasion of Ukraine continues, but their discussions were overshadowed by the sight of the struggling Russian leader.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his Belarus' counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. Photo / Getty
He appeared to be awkwardly perched in his chair, sitting hunched forward.
The President was also captured continually twitching his feet and rubbing his fingers throughout the meeting.
A British ex-spy has previously branded Putin "cancer-riddled" claiming he is continually surrounded by a team of doctors.
Christopher Steele, who previously worked the Russia desk at MI6 and published intelligence on Donald Trump's 2016 US presidential campaign, said the "exact details" of the ailing autocrat's illness were still not known.
The ex-intelligence officer said Putin was "constantly" being followed around with doctors and isn't able to pull through meetings without having a break for medical treatment.
"He's constantly accompanied around the place by a team of doctors," Steele told British radio station LBC.
"Meetings of the Security Council that are shown to supposedly last for a whole hour are actually broken up into several sections … he goes out and receives some kind of medical treatment between those sections.
"And so clearly he is seriously ill, I mean how terminal or incurable it is not clear … we can't be entirely sure."
He said the Kremlin was in "increasing disarray … and chaos" and that there was "no clear political leadership" coming from Putin, who he claimed was "increasingly ill".
This has caused the Russian army's structure of command to "not function as [it] should".
