Vladimir Putin has withdrawn from an appearance at a ice hockey match as growing concerns over his health continue to escalate.
Putin established an exhibition ice hockey match where he plays alongside former NHL stars in 2011, which has become an annual fixture in the Russian calendar. However, his decision to pull out of the match has caused concerns for his health due to his passion for the sport.
The Russian president, 70, has been questioned whether he is healthy enough to continue in his position at the helm as he cancelled his second major engagement in a matter of days.
On Monday, it was announced that Putin will not take part in the annual live set-piece press conference in Moscow.
Announcing the cancellation, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "As for the big press conference - yes there won’t be any until the New Year. We do, however, expect the president will find a way to communicate….with the Kremlin Pool."
Peskov also indicated a press conference could take place in the New Year but gave no specified date or format. He failed to give a date for Putin to address the senate which is a formal annual duty under the constitution.
The move has raised fresh speculation about his health and it was probably taken in a bid to avoid being quizzed about Russian war failures in Ukraine.
The major end-of-year session has taken place between 14 and 23 December over the last decade.
At the annual press conference, he routinely faces questions from 500-plus Russian and also foreign journalists in a major live televised live event that can last more than four hours. In 2019, a record 1,895 journalists were in attendance.
There has been significant speculation about Putin's medical condition including persistent, albeit unfounded claims, that he is suffering from cancer or Parkinson's.
Speculation about whether Putin has early stage Parkinson's disease were exacerbated last month when when his feet appeared to twitch and spasm during a meeting with Kazakhstan president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
As in many public events in recent months, Putin twitched his feet a lot and appeared to have spasms and tremors - typical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
While talking about the importance of the relationship between Kazakhstan and Russia, there were notable jolts with his feet and he was also gripping a table which is also something that he has been doing regularly.
There are also rumours that he underwent minor surgery at the weekend after an alleged fall down the stairs at an official residence. The Kremlin denied he suffered a fall in which he soiled himself, as the press has alleged.
