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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Josh Luckhurst & David Kent

Vladimir Putin's 'restless legs' during bizarre speech causes concern in Russia

Vladimir Putin appeared to have restless legs for the second time in the last seven days during a speech to young Russians in Kamchatka - sparking concerns over the health of the Kremlin's leader.

The Russian leader flew over nine time zones to get to Kamchatka but questions surrounding the 69-year-old's health were heightened after a concerning speech on stage.

Putin's alleged health problems have increased since his illegal invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, with some sources in Russia reporting that the Kremlin's president has Parkinson's disease and cancer.

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Putin was unable to keep his feet from twitching as he slouched towards the right side of his chair (SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

He appeared to bemuse his audience of young ecologists as he tried to boast about how grand Russia's land is in an awkward, rambling speech while on stage with a microphone.

Resting his right arm on the armrest and slouching, Putin said: "Our neighbour Japan is called the Country of the Rising Sun.

"But further east from Japan is Kamchatka, or Sakhalin [Russia’s largest island].

"Even further east is New Zealand. And further east from New Zealand is Chukotka [a Russian province almost touching Alaska].

"And then there is only a 60-kilometre-wide [37 mile] strait to America. In this sense the Country of the Rising Sun is Russia.”

Vladimir Putin's health was in question following a trip to Kamchatka (ALEXEI KUDENKO/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

As he was speaking on stage, he was unable to keep his feet from twitching as he slouched towards the right side of his chair and circled his left foot while seated.

Putin also told the audience in the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: "There is an expression, and whoever told me about it, I promised I would reproduce it out loud in public sometime.

"You have to live for something to die for.

"As strange as it may seem in your humanitarian field, this is something worth living for."

Putin appeared to bemuse his audience of young ecologists in Kamchatka (SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

During a rare eastern trip he will also oversee the culmination of the week-long Vostok-2022 military drills with a visit to Russia’s eastern capital Vladivostok.

Last week, appearing again in front of a crowd of bemused young people, Putin's legs twitched uncontrollably as he chuckled and cracked a weird joke about a "rubber bum".

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