While the War in Ukraine Is Still Raging, the Health of Vladimir Putin Still Raises Many Questions.

Western intelligence services scrutinize Putin's every move.

The war in Ukraine is still raging. It is now more than 100 days since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine by his army on February 24, 2022. If this already allows us to learn 4 major lessons of modern warfare, far from the Ukrainian battlefields, an equally bitter war is being played out in the Kremlin.

This same Kremlin where Vladimir Putin is more isolated than ever. More paranoid than ever, Putin is fighting on two other fronts: his faltering health, and the shifting loyalty of his entourage.

According to the American weekly Newsweek, the American intelligence services are closely following the state of the Russian president and have already produced four confidential reports for the attention of the White House tenant, Joe Biden. The last one, dating from the very last days of May 2022, emphasizes the degraded appearance of Vladimir Putin, his long-term absences attributed to anti-cancer treatment, his bloated appearance, a clear stiffening, and poorly concealed tremors of the hand.

“He gives admirably the change”, comments one of the confidential sources of Newsweek, as shown in the images of the meeting, Friday, June 3, 2022, of the Russian head of state with his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall, in Sochi. Handshakes, quick movements, but also a form of feverishness in the approach, which will not have failed to note the Kremlinologists.

According to the American media, it was the French who shared with their American colleagues valuable information about Vladimir Putin's health after Emmanuel Macron visited Moscow on February 7, 2022. The experience lived by the French president, deprived of any physical contact with his Russian counterpart and relegated to the end of a 6 meters long table, made of white beech wood, would have given indications of the physical and moral state of decay of the Russian president.

From there to imagine an “expiration date” for the master of the Kremlin, on the other hand, American analysts remain cautious. No one has forgotten the erroneous predictions about the supposedly poor health of Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden.

Vladimir Putin seems more isolated than ever in the Kremlin

What cannot be disputed, however, is the game of musical chairs in Putin circles: in April 2022, presidential advisor Valentin Yumashev is said to have left his post, without any further explanation from an evasive spokesperson.

Yumashev's resignation, whether forced or spontaneous, is not insignificant: he is the former son-in-law of President Boris Yeltsin who died in 2007. Yumashev, 64 years old, is the one who would have put Vladimir Putin's foot in the door, by offering him his first job in the Kremlin in 1997.

In March 2022, Anatoli Chubais, a former close collaborator of Boris Yeltsin, also a former vice-president and deputy prime minister aged 66, had given up his function as a negotiator with international organizations on the issue of sustainable development.

Other Russian officials, and diplomats, have left their posts with a bang. In its last report, the American National Intelligence Directorate validated other information according to which an attack would have been narrowly thwarted by the Kremlin's security, prompting Vladimir Putin to isolate himself even more from the outside world.

Sergei Lavrov was forced to speak out to try to reassure on the health of Vladimir Putin

So many questions, but still no answers as the rumors continue to swell. So much so that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had to talk about Putin's health condition during an interview with a French TV channel.

Lavrov denied all rumors about the failing health of the Kremlin czar:

“I don't believe that anyone who is in his right mind can see in this person (Putin) signs of any illness or disease. Vladimir Putin, who will turn 70 in October, appears in public every day. You can see him on the screen, and read or listen to his speeches. I leave those who spread such rumors to sort this out with their conscience, despite the daily opportunities they have to verify what is going on.”

Lavrov's exit also raises questions. If Putin's health wasn't failing, why would he bother to deny what is nothing more than rumors?

As you can see, questions about Vladimir Putin's health are not going to go away anytime soon. This uncertainty is finally something that Putin likes to cultivate, he does not let anything about his real objectives for the continuation of the war in Ukraine.

It is up to you to ask yourself who can benefit most from such rumors to make up your mind about their veracity.