A video released from the Kremlin of Russian leader Vladimir Putin sitting with his hands in a near motionless position for more than 20 minutes has led to a flurry of wild speculation online based on existing rumors about his health.
The film, posted on Thursday, November 21, 2024, showed the Russian President confirming the use of hypersonic missiles in a strike on Ukraine, adding that Russia was testing the weapon system in response to what it said were actions from NATO countries against Russia.
The U.S. and U.K. governments are both believed to have recently approved Ukrainian forces to use its long-range ATACMS missiles and Storm Shadow rockets at targets inside Russia.
"We have always preferred and are now ready to resolve all contentious issues by peaceful means. But we are also ready for any development of events," a translation of Putin's statement read.
While Russia's deployment of hypersonic weaponry made headlines across the world, Putin's filmed statement confirming their use attracted attention for other reasons.
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko, posted on November 21, 2024, viewed 1.5 million times, said: "If you speed up the video, it is visible that Putin's hands are not moving and look like they are separate from his body.
"The sound and lip movement do not correspond at times.
"What do you think?"
Gerashchenko later commented that the response from what he called "Russian bots and trolls" made him think "there is something indeed there."
Filmmaker Patrick Hölscher wrote: "#Putin's health must now be officially questioned. In the latest video released by http://Kremlin.ru you can clearly see the amateurish work to make his hands appear steady. They did not bother to refilm it or fix it properly - it's there in full HD."
Hölscher's post included an edited version of the video that he said showed Putin's hands were a separate overlaid element.
These comments follow reports that Putin has not been seen in public for two weeks, after his last appearance at a conference in Sochi.
In October the Kremlin rushed out a statement that Putin had no health problems after he visited Central Clinic Hospital, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov telling a reporter from Tass, a Russian state news agency that he went for "ordinary medical examinations."
Putin had previously mentioned he regularly undergoes examinations at the Moscow hospital.
"Doctors at the Central Clinical Hospital, where I undergo all sorts of regular examinations, also recommend getting vaccinated with domestically produced drugs," he told his health minister Mikhail Murashko during a televised session aimed at encouraging Russians to get flu vaccinations.
For years, Putin's health has been of fervent speculation, with rumors based on unnamed sources, reported surgeries and treatments, as well as what is likely to be nothing more than fanciful storytelling.
Some commentators have interpreted Putin's hand movements, often described as shaking, as a sign of his ailing health.
In April 2022, a video of Putin gripping a table while talking to former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ran with this speculation.
In a post on X, Louise Mensch, an author and former member of the U.K. Parliament, linked to an article she wrote that speculated Putin may be hiding an illness, noting his hand movements in the Shoigu film.
"PS: I reported, Vladimir Putin has Parkinson's disease and here you can see him gripping the table so that his shaking hand is not visible but he cannot stop his foot from tapping," she posted on X.
Mensch wrote on Substack in March 2022 that she had spoken to "senior sources linked to the U.K. government" asking about rumors of a cancer diagnosis.
"I was told that although these people did not know if Putin had cancer, they could confirm that he has Parkinson's disease," she said.
"More importantly, I was told, it is progressing fairly rapidly and Putin is forced to consult his physicians several times a week.
Needless to say, this is not ideal for a man who cultivates a "strong man" image.
"The puffy face many of us attributed to filler and Botox actually comes from anti-Parkinson's steroids. Perhaps Putin sits so far away from other men so that they cannot see the tremor in his hands."
On April 1, 2022, Russian news outlet Proekt published a report claiming Putin was routinely seen by a team of doctors. Proekt alleged that two ear, nose, and throat specialists have regularly visited Putin, as has an oncology surgeon who specializes in thyroid cancer. Proekt's report also alleged that Putin had been using an alternative therapy that involved bathing in blood extract from severed deer antlers.
The Moscow Times reported that journalist Alexei Venediktov wrote on his Telegram channel that he had asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov about the cancer rumors.
"Fiction and untruth," Peskov told Venediktov, which prompted the journalist to specifically ask if it was correct to say that Putin does not have cancer.
"Correct," Peskov answered, according to The Moscow Times.
Is there any substance to the claims?
Much like all the allegations about Putin's health, it's highly unlikely that the Kremlin would ever confirm speculation, particularly given how lightweight the evidence here is.
As pointed out by some users on social media, while the video looked unusual, Putin did in fact move his hands during the course of the film.
As X user @heroniconic pointed out "On 0:14 min the little finger is moving (and you can see movement in the whole hand after that), it's not a still image.
"Except of that: Putin would have better options than faking a video so poorly, it's just a really bad video, that's all.
Newsweek has contacted a media representative at the Kremlin via email for comment.
Russian experts who have previously spoken to Newsweek said there was "absolutely no serious evidence in the public domain about Putin being sick."
Emeritus Professor of Russian and European Politics Richard Sakwa from the University of Kent told Newsweek in February 2023: "He does have a medical team with him at all times, but that makes sense in purely preventive terms … In my view, Putin is likely to run again in 2024 and win. He will be with us—for good or all—for the next few years.
"The story of his illness is a nonstory—put out by the usual crazies."
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