Monday 23 May 2022 03:07 PM Vladimir Putin underwent successful cancer surgery last week, it is claimed trends now
Vladimir Putin underwent 'successful' cancer surgery last week and is recovering, it has been claimed in just the latest rumour about the Russian leader's health.
The 69-year-old underwent an unknown procedure late last Monday following advice from medics that treatment was 'essential', according to Telegram channel General SVR which claims to be getting information from inside the Kremlin.
The news emerged just hours before Putin appeared on state TV meeting with ally Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, when he was caught on camera awkwardly twisting his feet while the pair sat down for talks.
It is the second time Putin has been filmed making the odd movement, which was caught on camera during a meeting with Tajikistan's president a week ago, and comes off the back of rumours that he is suffering Parkinson's.
Vladimir Putin has been filmed fidgeting with his feet in new footage while meeting with Alexander Lukashenko, amid fresh rumours about his health
Putin was meeting with Lukashenko in Sochi today to discuss the future of Russian and Belarusian relations, after his country was largely cut off from the Western economy
Emomali Rahmon appeared to notice the movement during his meeting with Putin and glanced at the leader's feet, though did not raise it in conversation.
Critics have suggested the twisting motion could be an attempt to cover up the kind of involuntary twitches caused by Parkinson's - after Putin was seen shaking his arm and led before another meeting with Lukashenko on February 18.
Since then, he has been seen to grip the arms of chairs and corners of tables in what some believe to be an effort to disguise any shaking.
Whispers about Putin's health began at least two years ago when he was said to be suffering both Parkinson's and cancer, but have received renewed attention in the wake of his invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has not commented on the latest allegations of Putin's ill-health, but regularly denies he is suffering any kind of difficulties.
General SVR wrote today: 'On the night of Monday May 16 to Tuesday May 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin underwent a surgical operation.
'The fact that Putin should be operated on as soon as possible was insisted upon by his attending physicians.
'According to the doctors involved in the treatment of the President, the operation was successful.
'We have already talked about the fact that Putin was personally absent from the information space from May 17 to May 19 and was not available even to his inner circle, with the exception of Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
'From May 17 to May 19, 'canned', pre-recorded meetings and messages were posted in the information space, and Putin personally held two telephone conversations during this time.'
Putin was seen on Friday apparently chairing a meeting of his security council, the body overseeing the war in Ukraine.
Oliver Stone, an American director who spent two years interviewing Putin for a documentary series, said last week that the Russian leader had cancer but beat it
But General SVR said 'the president's speech was recorded in advance, and Putin's participation in video format was supported using Deepfake technology, as was the case the week before.
'In reality, on May 20, Putin was still too weak to take part in lengthy meetings and had two short video calls.
'On May 20, in the evening, Putin's health deteriorated and stabilised only on the morning of Saturday, May 21.
'The attending physicians recommend that Putin rest in the coming days and urge him to refuse personal participation in meetings.'
It claimed that Putin's close ally, Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko, is taking part in a smokescreen, arriving in Russia on a trip that is scheduled to include a meeting with Putin today. Lukashenko was seen in Black Sea resort Sochi.
The Minsk autocrat is 'one of the few people' who 'knows the real state of affairs with Putin's health'.
It is claimed earlier Lukashenko meetings were intended to show Putin was fit when, in fact, he had health problems.
General SVR has claimed for some weeks that Putin was due to have surgery, alleging abdominal cancer. Other sources have suggested thyroid or blood cancer.
Amid the allegations, American film director Oliver Stone - who spent two years interviewing Putin for a documentary series - said he believes the Russian leader did have cancer at one point, but had beaten it.
'Remember this, Mr Putin has had this cancer and I think he's licked it,' he told podcast interviewer Lex Fridman. 'But he's also been isolated because of Covid.'
Vladimir Putin is 'constantly' accompanied by a doctor specialising in thyroid cancer, according to an investigation by opposition outlet Proekt.
Surgeon Yevgeny Selivanov, of Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital, a thyroid cancer specialist, is reported to be constantly at Putin's side.
General SVR had previously predicted that Putin had been ordered by doctors to undergo surgery related to a cancer condition at around
