Vladimir Putin’s relatives are concerned about his coughing fits, constant nausea and a lack of appetite, it is claimed.
The Russian leader, who was seen with mobilised troops and shooting a sniper’s rifle last week, reportedly underwent a medical examination over the weekend.
His circle is worried that his “thinness and persistent cough” is becoming noticeable and will be seen by the elites in Russia as a “sign of the leader’s rapidly deteriorating health”, claimed Telegram channel General SVR, which has long claimed he is suffering from cancer despite the Kremlin’s insistence he is in good health.
He has lost 8kg in recent months, according to the channel.
Putin was only seen once between Friday and Sunday – in an unremarkable online meeting with the governor of former GULAG region Magadan, Sergey Nosov.
However, such meetings are often believed to be “canned”, or recorded earlier than they are shown.
Today Putin reportedly had a face-to-face working meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.
He slightly coughed in the brief clip as he discussed sporting provision in annexed Ukrainian regions.
The Telegram channel – which cited no proof for its claims – reported: “Both Putin himself and his relatives, as well as doctors, are worried about the president’s coughing fits, as well as constant nausea and lack of appetite due to medication and a specific diet [for] oncology.
“In the past few months, Putin has lost eight kilograms, and those around the president are worried that the thinness and persistent cough that is noticeable in progress will be regarded by the elites as a sign of the leader’s rapidly deteriorating health.”
It further claimed that Putin was bad tempered over the war, in particular berating and then cutting off defence minister Sergei Shoigu at an online meeting.
Putin resorted to screams and profanities, it was alleged.
“After Shoigu was disconnected from participating in the video conference, Putin started talking to other representatives of the leadership of the military bloc, but could not continue due to an attack of severe coughing, so much so that the meeting had to be stopped, and the president needed medical help,” claimed the channel which says it has sources in the Kremlin.
Earlier at the meeting Putin was told that the loss of the Su-30 plane – in which two test pilots were killed – was unlikely to have been sabotage.
The channel does not specify which of Putin’s relatives are supposedly worried about his condition.
General SVR channel has long claimed that Putin is suffering from abdominal cancer, Parkinson’s disease and a schizoaffective disorder.
Its claims cannot be verified but it was among the first to report in advance the shape of Putin’s recent mobilisation strategy.
It is reportedly authored by an exiled Kremlin lieutenant-general, known by the alias Viktor Mikhailovich.
The channel has claimed that the Kremlin is seeking to ban it but has so far failed.
