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The Russian President's health has sparked speculation.
13:04, Tue, May 26, 2026 Updated: 13:07, Tue, May 26, 2026
Putin (Image: Getty)
New speculation over Vladimir Putin’s health has emerged after he slurred his speech at a major Kremlin event.
The Russian dictator, 73, miscued pronouncing the Russian word for ‘Hurray’ leading to widespread mockery led by his foe Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Now Putin’s ex-speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov has revealed he is convinced his former boss first suffered a “mini-stroke” four years ago.
Putin is ailing but also full of “rage” at being a “loser” from a war in Ukraine that has gone wrong, he said.
“Basically, the first time I noticed these [stroke-like] symptoms in Putin was in 2022, a few months after the war began, when it became clear that a quick, dashing cavalry charge hadn't won the war, and it was a very serious psychological blow to him,” he told Anyway News, a Ukrainian media project
“Then he started having tremors — you know, his hand would shake, his leg would shake.
“I remember from my father that this is one of the consequences of a stroke.
“And so even then, I thought, and I basically said, that perhaps he had a mini-stroke.”
He said it was “telling” that even Russian pro-war Telegram channels were now discussing that Putin was afflicted by the consequences of a stroke.
Recently, the despot appeared to misstep as he emerged from his limousine in Beijing to be greeted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
One observer commented: “Putin shuffles forward with an awkward stooped gait as he greets Xi in Beijing.”
On Sunday addressing “war heroes” in the Kremlin he told them to belt out three “Hurrahs” for the fighters on the frontline.
But he blurted: “Hurrah, Hrra, Huraaah.”
Russian state TV failed to show the embarrassing moment which was also not screened on the Kremlin’s website.
Zelensky seized on the despot’s speech saying: “Putin can’t even pronounce the word “hurrah” clearly anymore – slurs and mumbles – yet he is still vanquishing residential buildings with his missiles.”
He claimed the Russian ruler was “unhinged”, “genuinely deranged”, and “sick”.
Gallyamov said there could now be a “sudden, sharp decline in Putin's health” amid the failure of his war in Ukraine.
“I think we can't and shouldn't discount this factor, because illnesses are largely psychological in nature,” he said.
“He's filled with anger, he's seething with hatred, literally rage, right?
“The more powerful he is in Russia—and he is absolutely powerful in Russia—the more powerful, the more striking, the more glaring the contrast with his impotence in Ukraine.”
The “fixation [with the war] is morbid for him. This is becoming increasingly obvious.”
Putin (Image: Getty)
The Russians ruler appears to have visibly aged in recent months.
The former Kremlin speechwriter, now a political commentator, said: “In reality, of course, he already looks ridiculous.
“In the eyes of the majority of Russians, he's increasingly turning into some kind of clown.
“That is, his resources, both economic and political, are being exhausted.
“And in this situation, continuing to do what he's doing is sheer madness.”
If Putin falls, his dullard technocrat prime minister Mikhail Mishustin takes over for three months according to the constitution, but there would be a “horrific conflict” as his circle fight for the crown.
“The war itself will fizzle out quite quickly,” he said.
“This is Putin's war. Putin is willing to destroy his own future, to jeopardise the country's future for the sake of this war, because for him, it's, well, his signature project….
“He doesn't want to admit it's a failed project, a bankrupt one.
“It's the main project of his life, you understand?
English (US) · 