'No sane person' thinks Putin is ill, says Russian minister about rumours

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed all rumours around Vladimir Putin's health stating that "no sane person" would think that the latter is suffering from ill-health.

The statement from the minister comes at a time when several media outlets have made different claims about Putin's health over the last few weeks. Some reports claimed that Putin has cancer while others claimed that he has just been given three years to live. However, Lavrov has rejected all these reports in an interview with a French television channel.

"I don't think that sane people can see in this person signs of some kind of illness or ailment. You can watch him on screens, read and listen to his speeches," Lavrov told TF1. "I leave it to the conscience of those who spread such rumours despite daily opportunities to assess how anyone is looking," he added.

A video of Putin tightly clutching the table and not letting go for the entirety of the 12-minute clip during a meeting with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, had also gone viral recently with social media users making speculations about his health.

A Russian oligarch was also secretly recorded saying Russian President Vladimir Putin has blood cancer, according to recent media reports. Christopher Steele, a former British spy, had said that Putin is "seriously ill."

He told Sky News: "Certainly, from what we're hearing from sources in Russia and elsewhere, is that Putin is, in fact, quite seriously ill."

A senior Royal Navy admiral had claimed in March this year that Russian President Vladimir Putin hastily decided to attack Ukraine because he is terminally ill. However, none of these reports were backed by any piece of evidence, wrote The Independent.

Lavrov also spoke about Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the interview and accused France of arming Ukraine and "Ukrainian nationalism and neo-Nazism."

"France is actively arming Ukraine, including with offensive weapons, and it is calling for a war to the end to defeat Russia," he added. Lavrov further stated that the "liberation" of Ukraine's Donbas region is an "unconditional priority" for Moscow, while other Ukrainian territories should decide their future on their own.

In recent weeks, Russia has focused its drive on Donbas after pulling back from a failed advance on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions. The invasion, now in its fourth month, has killed thousands of people in Ukraine and displaced millions. According to the United Nations, more than 6.7 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24.