Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February, speculation about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health has implied that he is battling an array of illnesses, including cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
The most recent rumor, posted by the General SVR’s Telegram channel, alleges after a difficult day of leadership earlier this week, Putin fell down five steps on a staircase and landed on his coccyx, or tailbone. The jarring fall caused the Russian leader to then “defecate involuntarily,” according to the Telegram channel.
Vladimir Putin found time to take questions from something resembling a press corps on Sunday. In the process, the Russian president was asked about a recent report that he fell down the steps and defecated on himself.
Putin’s response to the ordeal was interesting, both because of what he said and what he didn’t say.
Putin calls on the reporter who asked about the alleged incident, who is from some outlet called Zero Canal. The reporter then answers a challenge about where the information for the question came from, stating from “Western media.” As I mentioned above, that’s not actually true given it came from the General SVR Telegram channel, which is run by someone out of Russia. Regardless, that was the hook Putin was looking for, allowing him to dismiss the report as “fake news.”
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General SVR has repeatedly touted claims that Putin is sick, with many media outlets citing its Telegram channel as people worldwide look for proof that Putin’s leadership is cracking. Previous General SVR Telegram posts have been widely reported in Europe and the United States, with organizations like the New York Post, United Kingdom’s daily newspaper The Mirror and various other media organizations citing the channel’s claims in articles.
General SVR is reportedly operated by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service official with inside access to Putin and his staff, although the channel’s owner has not been named, according to a fact check report by Newsweek.
