Speculation about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health has intensified again, stemming from recent public remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During a speech in Paris on March 27, 2025, Zelenskyy made a bold prediction about his Russian counterpart. The Ukrainian leader asserted that Putin “will die soon, it’s a fact, and everything will end.”
Mr. Zelenskyy’s leadership style is often compared to that of Winston Churchill, but he did not elaborate on how he expects the Russian president to die. Whether it will be due to health issues or other reasons remains unclear. Putin has been the target of multiple assassination attempts over the years and has faced various rumors about his health, but he is reported to have survived at least six such attempts.
The remarks by the Ukrainian president, who has been a target of Russian assassins since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, have sparked a new round of speculation about the health of the 72-year-old Russian leader. Putin has been overseeing what has been described as an unexpectedly costly and protracted invasion of Ukraine for over three years.
Recent reports have claimed that President Putin is suffering from cancer and Parkinson’s disease. These rumors, whether old or new, have never been conclusively confirmed. Since 2005, claims that the Russian leader has only days or weeks to live have circulated periodically, particularly after he was reported to have suffered a stroke.
Over the years, various reports—some from Russian historian and political analyst Valery Solovei and others—have claimed that Putin is battling a range of terminal illnesses, debilitating conditions, surgical complications, and stroke-related complications. Solovei hinted in late 2016 that Putin might step down for health reasons, but this did not occur. In 2020, Solovei and others again claimed that Putin was suffering from cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, or leprosy and was about to resign, but this did not happen either.
Solovei continues to insist that the person appearing in public is a body double. Zelensky himself publicly questioned in January 2023 whether Putin was still alive, suggesting he might have been replaced by a body double.
Putin’s public appearances are often closely scrutinized for signs of health issues, a practice known as “Kremlinology,” which involves analyzing a leader’s public appearances for clues in the absence of reliable information. Putin has been observed with trembling legs, facial swelling, bloodshot eyes, and bruises on the back of his left hand. Some observers have reported a scar on his neck, which they believe may indicate he has undergone treatment for thyroid cancer.
In July 2022, Bang Showbiz reported that Putin had lost the use of his right arm due to an unknown medical crisis, citing a video as evidence in which he swatted at mosquitoes with his left arm. However, neurologists pointed out that Russian officials like Putin, who have undergone professional training, typically restrict the use of their right arm, keeping it stiffly at their side, a gait known as the “gunner’s gait.”
Katie Stallard of The New Statesman noted in June 2022 that many such allegations are based on “rumours swirling within the intelligence community and the old Soviet-era practice of Kremlinology.” She added, “To be clear, there is no verifiable evidence that Putin is seriously ill. Still less so that he is dead.”
Despite the lack of verifiable evidence, the independent Russian media outlet Proekt cited leaked travel documents in April 2022 that suggested Mr. Putin was under close medical supervision. Their investigation revealed he had frequently traveled with a team of top doctors to his Black Sea residence, including an oncology surgeon and two otolaryngologists, which Proekt stated was consistent with treatment for thyroid cancer. A Putin spokesman dismissed these claims as “fabrication and untruth.”
In the fall of 2023, reports from sources such as the official Telegram channel of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that President Putin was found on the floor of his bedroom after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was reportedly successfully resuscitated and taken to a special intensive care unit at his official residence. The Kremlin denied these specific reports.
The New York Times noted that since the invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s health has become the subject of “sensational speculation, online video analysis, and potential war propaganda.” William Burns, who served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2021 to 2025, stated, “As far as we know, he is in perfect health.” Richard Moore, head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, stated that there is no evidence that Putin suffers from a serious illness.
The intertwining of these circumstances—the ongoing rumors and denials about President Putin’s health, as well as the claims about a body double—against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, highlights the multiple pressures and uncertainties currently shaping the geopolitical landscape.
