Vladimir Putin has been advised by doctors not to make any “lengthy” public appearances after he felt ill talking to military chiefs, according to a new claim.
He felt “sharp sickness, weakness and dizziness”, while getting up from his desk following the one-and-a-half hour virtual session, reported General SVR Telegram channel.
“The President needed urgent medical assistance," said the channel, which has made repeated claims about Putin’s alleged medical problems including cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
The claims - which the channel says are based on inside intelligence - are impossible to verify but the theory that he is suffering health issues is gaining currency in the West.
The channel cited the “dizziness” incident to explain an abrupt announcement this week that Putin’s annual ‘Direct Line’ live broadcast - a Q&A when he answers questions from ordinary Russians - had been postponed with no date fixed.
It had been pencilled in for the second half of June or early July, but now no date is specified.
Despite this, Putin was seen in a fairly rare public appearance in Moscow on Thursday.
He was close to multiple people at an event marking the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great and a session at the same venue with young entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists, suggesting there is less concern than previously that he could catch Covid.
He boasted that in going to war in Ukraine he was following in the footsteps of the tsar, who had seized land from Sweden.
"What was (Peter) doing? Taking back and reinforcing,” he said.
“That's what he did. And it looks like it fell on us to take back and reinforce as well.”
He also admitted that Russians will have to wait a decade to live better after the country has been cut off from the world by sanctions due to his invasion of Ukraine.
At the meeting with young entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists, he was asked: "So will we live better in 10 years’ time?”
He replied: “Yes, in the end this [reaching the goals I have set] will lead to a better life quality.”
Some recent pictures show him looking more frail or with a puffy face, while he has been seen gripping the side of desks to prevent his hand quaking, say critics.
But General SVR said: “The postponement of the live [Direct Line] with the President indefinitely is due to the unstable health of Vladimir Putin.
“A week ago, the president was preparing to answer the questions of the Russian citizens in late June-early July.
“But his doctors advised him not to make any lengthy public appearances in the near future.
“The latest argument in favour of not speaking to the public was an incident after a recent one-and-a-half hour video-link meeting with representatives of the military bloc…
“After the meeting Putin felt a sharp sickness, weakness and dizziness while trying to get up from the table.
“The President needed urgent medical assistance.”
In four out of the last five years, the Direct Line broadcast has been in June.
In 2020 it was delayed until December due to the pandemic.
The format sees Putin answer questions for a solid four hours but the channel said: “Lately, the president has been getting tired much faster.
“Perhaps if Putin's health can be stabilised, the Direct Line will be held in August.
“The Russian president's indisposition has recently become increasingly difficult to conceal.”
General SVR claims to be authored by an exiled Kremlin lieutenant-general insider, known by the alias Viktor Mikhailovich, who purportedly has access to Putin's secrets.
It was the first outlet to suggest Putin was suffering from cancer.
