Speculation about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health has intensified, fueled by a bold prediction from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a speech in Paris on March 27, 2025, where he asserted, “Putin will die soon, it’s a fact, and everything will end.”
Mr. Zelenskyy’s leadership style is often compared to that of Winston Churchill, but he did not elaborate on how he expects the Russian president to die. Whether it will be due to health issues or other reasons remains unclear. Putin has been the target of multiple assassination attempts over the years and has faced various rumors about his health, but he is reported to have survived at least six such attempts.
These remarks from the Ukrainian president, a constant target since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, have reignited discussions about the well-being of the 72-year-old Russian leader, who has led an unexpectedly costly and prolonged invasion for over three years.
Recent claims suggest President Putin is battling cancer and Parkinson’s disease, though these rumors, whether new or old, have never been definitively proven, echoing a history of similar claims about his health since 2005.
Over the years, various reports—some from Russian historian and political analyst Valery Solovei and others—have claimed that Putin is battling a range of terminal illnesses, debilitating conditions, surgical complications, and stroke-related complications. Solovei hinted in late 2016 that Putin might step down for health reasons, but this did not occur. In 2020, Solovei and others again claimed that Putin was suffering from cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, or leprosy and was about to resign, but this did not happen either.
Adding another layer of intrigue, one source, Solovei, insists that the individual seen in public is merely a body double, a notion echoed by Zelensky himself in January 2023 when he questioned if Putin was still alive.
Putin’s public appearances are intensely scrutinized for any hints of ill health, a practice known as ‘Kremlinology,’ where observers analyze subtle signs like trembling legs, facial swelling, bloodshot eyes, bruising on his left hand, and a neck scar possibly indicating thyroid cancer treatment.
In July 2022, Bang Showbiz reported that Putin had lost the use of his right arm due to an unknown medical crisis, citing a video as evidence in which he swatted at mosquitoes with his left arm. However, neurologists pointed out that Russian officials like Putin, who have undergone professional training, typically restrict the use of their right arm, keeping it stiffly at their side, a gait known as the “gunner’s gait.”
As Katie Stallard of The New Statesman pointed out in June 2022, many such allegations stem from ‘rumours swirling within the intelligence community and the old Soviet-era practice of Kremlinology,’ emphasizing that ‘there is no verifiable evidence that Putin is seriously ill. Still less so that he is dead.’
Despite the lack of concrete proof, an investigation by the independent Russian media outlet Proekt in April 2022, citing leaked travel documents, suggested Mr. Putin was under close medical observation, traveling frequently with a team of doctors including an oncology surgeon and two otolaryngologists, which Proekt linked to thyroid cancer treatment, though a Kremlin spokesman dismissed these as ‘fabrication and untruth.’
Further reports emerged in the fall of 2023 from sources like Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Telegram channel, claiming President Putin suffered a cardiac arrest in his bedroom, was resuscitated, and taken to intensive care, a report the Kremlin subsequently denied.
The New York Times has observed that since the Ukraine invasion, Putin’s health has become a subject of ‘sensational speculation, online video analysis, and potential war propaganda,’ a sentiment echoed by CIA Director William Burns (2021-2025) who stated, ‘As far as we know, he is in perfect health,’ and Richard Moore, head of MI6, who confirmed there is no evidence of serious illness.
These persistent rumors, combined with denials and claims of body doubles, set against the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, vividly illustrate the complex web of pressures and uncertainties that are currently defining the global geopolitical landscape.
