Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has responded to claims that Vladimir Putin is sick.
British intelligence sources were last week quoted as saying the Russian president was seriously ill.
Rumours surrounding Putin's health have been circulating since the early days of his invasion of Ukraine, and over the past few weeks, people have been looking through footage and analysing Putin's body language.
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For example, in one clip he can be seen gripping the table and looking a bit bloated, which some have claimed are signs of ill health.
The Russian Foreign Minister has now come out and addressed the rumours.
Speaking to French TV station TF1, Sergei Lavrov said the Russian leader is constantly out in public and is not sick in the slightest.
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He said: "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.
"I leave it to the conscience of those who spread such rumours despite daily opportunities to assess how anyone is looking."
Just last month, Russia was accused of fabricating the leader's Easter church appearance.
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While attending the Easter mass service on 24 April, Putin could been biting his lips and swaying.
Writing on Twitter, Anders Aslund, a former adviser to Russia and Ukraine, said he believed the president looked 'depressed and seemingly in bad health’.
He said: "Putin's meeting with Shoigu today shows both depressed & seemingly in bad health. Shoigu has to read his comments to Putin & slurs badly, suggesting that the rumours of his heart attack are likely. He sits badly."
Another theory regarding the Easter service saw some claiming the footage had been doctored and that Putin wasn't there whatsoever, either due to being ill or busy with matters regarding the invasion of Ukraine.
In the footage, Putin can be seen attending in Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral alongside the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin. Both men were wearing similar attire to last year's service.
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Agentstvo, a Russian investigative journalism outlet, claims that Putin's appearance has been stitched with the other footage to make it seem like he was there, when he actually wasn't.
Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit also claimed: "Putin 2022 at the service in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is almost indistinguishable from Putin 2021. Social media users, having studied the photos, doubted that the President attended a public event.
"Putin has the same hairstyle, almost the same facial expression, the same candle. Both are on the same background in the same aisle of the cathedral.
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"True, in 2021 Putin was sometimes shown against the backdrop of parishioners and priests, but this year, for some reason, they did not do this.”
Sharing the RT footage, Twitter user Igor Sushko also wrote: "Putin was too much of a coward to be present in the church during the actual event.
"Pre-recorded footage of him added in, and quite poorly. He is missing next to the painting of a crown on a red table on the wall."
Despite the countless theories, the Kremlin has continued to deny that anything is wrong with Putin.
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Topics: Politics, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, World News
