Vladimir Putin looked colorless at a conference with Belarusian ally Alexander Lukashenko today as the pair met to discuss the war in Ukraine.
The 71-year-old Russian president posed for cameras to shake hands with his counterpart in Minsk, but appeared frail as he spoke about the developments in the conflict on the southern border.
The aging Russian tyrant was received by Lukashenko in the Belarusian capital on Friday, where Putin questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy in power, discussed national nuclear exercises and agreed to continue cooperation with Belarus.
But Putin appeared at a news conference after the meeting looking tired and exhausted as Ukraine claimed to have achieved minor successes in rolling back its shocking advances in the Kharkiv region.
There has been much speculation about the health of Putin, who was sworn in for his fifth term as president in March, some 24 years after first taking office.
Much has been made of the Russian president’s health and appearance since the war began.
The Russian leader appeared colorless as he attended a press conference in Minsk today.
Putin meets with Lukashenko in Minsk, Belarus, on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with AFP on May 17.
Rumors about the Russian president’s deteriorating health, mental state and unstable position have circulated since long before he ordered the invasion on February 24, 2022, but the war appears to be taking its toll on Vladimir Vladimirovich.
Footage from meetings and official appearances show Putin gripping a table for support, tapping his feet and looking unsteady as he walks, with his appearance becoming more rounded and bloated as he ages.
In December, Putin abandoned a presidential trip to Pskov at the last minute due to “unfavorable flight conditions,” despite weather forecasts suggesting clear skies, prompting onlookers to raise questions about his health.
He then postponed a visit to Russia’s largest tank plant in Nizhny Tagil and also canceled his usual appearance at a year-end meeting of his ministers, before canceling his traditional December press conference and ice hockey game. end of the year.
In October last year, the Kremlin was pressured to deny rumors that Putin had suffered cardiac arrest, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the speculation “false.”
‘This (type of story) belongs to the category of fake news, discussed with enviable tenacity by various media outlets. This just causes a smile (in the Kremlin),’ he said at the time.
Peskov also dismissed accusations that Putin was using “doubles” to replace him at official events during his bouts of illness.
Days earlier, the General SVR Telegram channel, which regularly alleges that Putin is terminally ill with cancer, had claimed that Putin had suffered a “cardiac arrest.”
“Doctors performed resuscitation, having previously determined that the president was in cardiac arrest,” the channel reported. “Help was provided in time, the heart started working and Putin regained consciousness.”
In a 2020 interview, ahead of the 2022 invasion, Putin denied long-standing rumors that he uses body doubles, although he said he had been offered the opportunity to use one in the past for security reasons.
Putin also appeared less animated than usual as he addressed journalists at a news conference in Minsk today.
The Russian president spoke about the war in Ukraine, possible paths to peace and the use of nuclear exercises at home.
He said he was now willing to hold talks on resolving the war in Ukraine. Not for the first time – and took the opportunity to criticize the legitimacy in power of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
With Putin in Minsk, Russian sources told Reuters that the Russian president was actually ready and willing to stop the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognizes the current battlefield lines, or continue fighting if the West does not respond.
“Of course, we are aware that the legitimacy of the current head of state has ended,” said Putin, who has repeatedly stated that Russia is willing to engage in talks with Ukraine.
“We must be completely sure that we are dealing with legitimate authorities.”
Putin claimed that Zelenskyy’s presidential term was supposed to end on May 20, using the opportunity to undermine his adversary.
Ukrainian law prohibits elections during martial law that has been in effect since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
The country would have to modify the law for elections during a state of war.
Zelensky also rejected preconditions Russia has put forward for talks, including allowing Russia to retain territory Kremlin forces have seized since the February 2022 invasion.
The two-day visit to Belarus was one of several foreign tours Putin made to begin his fifth term.
Russia and Belarus have increasingly close relations and plan to eventually form the so-called “union state.”
Speaking in Minsk, both Putin and Belarus shared intentions to strengthen their cooperation in industry and technology in the face of Western sanctions against their economies.
Putin also took the opportunity to talk about his nuclear exercises, insisting that his latest exercises this week were not an escalation by Russia.
Putin said the only difference this time is that the exercises also involve Belarus, where Russia announced last year that it was deploying tactical nuclear missiles.
The 71-year-old was photographed alongside his ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin received Lukashenko at the Independence Palace in Minsk, Belarus, on May 24.
Putin used the conference to discuss the war in Ukraine and consider paths to peace.
Putin this month reopened the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, making rapid gains and extending the offensive from north to south.
Contemporary reports claimed that Putin’s forces were “just walking” through Ukraine’s first line of defense in the region, devouring villages in a lightning offensive.
In the operation, launched on May 10, Russian artillery and airstrikes bombarded cities and towns in Kharkiv before Moscow’s troops crossed the border once again.
Zelensky blamed the “world” for allowing the seizures to occur and emphasized the need for military support.
As the United States today announced $275 million in new military aid for Ukraine, Ukraine claimed to have secured “combat control” in the northern parts of the region.
“Our soldiers have now managed to take combat control of the border area where the Russian occupiers entered,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.
Zelenskiy’s comments, after holding a meeting of military and regional officials in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, appeared to be at odds with comments from Russian officials.
Viktor Vodolatskiy, a member of the lower house of parliament of Russia’s State Duma, was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying that Russian forces controlled more than half of the territory of the city of Vovchansk, 5 kilometers (three miles) inside of the border.
Analysis by Institute for the Study of War He claimed today that Ukrainian forces had recently recaptured marginal territory north of the city of Kharkiv.
Geolocated images released earlier this week showed that Ukrainian forces had retreated southeast of Lukyantsi, the monitor reported.
There were no confirmed changes to the front line around Vovchansk on May 23, despite claims to the contrary by Russian milbloggers, he added.
One admitted that Russian forces were now “stuck” in street fighting with Ukrainian forces despite initial tactical successes.
Prominent milblogger Syrskyi said Russia now had to move reserves to the area from other regions.
Late last month, the United States finally approved a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, which included $61 billion set aside for its allies in kyiv and the replenishment of American reserves.
Ukrainian forces fire a Grad multiple rocket launcher at a Russian position on May 15.
Ukrainian forces fire on a Russian position with a 155mm howitzer in the Kharkiv region on April 21.
A Ukrainian evacuee arrives at an evacuation point in the Kharkiv region on May 12, 2024.
The total amount provided to Ukraine for weapons purchases would be $13.8 billion, which will soon allow Kiev’s defenders to re-equip themselves with much-needed artillery, long-range missile systems and ammunition.
Ukraine would also receive more than $9 billion in economic assistance from the United States in the form of “forgivable loans.”
The bill was stalled in the House of Representatives for months, preventing new aid from reaching Ukraine since December.
Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the House of Representatives for passing the colossal aid package, saying it could save thousands of lives.
Ukraine’s depleted air defenses have allowed Russia to have much less friction in capturing hundreds of square kilometers of territory in recent months.
