Russian president Vladimir Putin canceled his annual end-of-year press conference, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced. The cancellation of the event—the first time in 10 years—has led to rumors that Vladimir Putin may be suffering from ill health.
Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin hopes that Vladimir Putin “will still find an opportunity” to speak with the press soon but no media event will take place in December Russian state-run news agency TASS reported.
Vladimir Putin scrapped the conference as there is a growing sense that Russia’s war in Ukraine is going poorly, The Sun reported adding that the Russian leader may be suffering from at least one undisclosed ailment.
Rumors about Vladimir Putin’s health have intensified since Russia’s late-February invasion of Ukraine. Some reports earlier cited videos of the Russian president appearing shaky or tense as evidence that he might have Parkinson’s disease, though some medical experts have disputed the claimed.