'Cancer-stricken Putin splutters through meeting amid 'chemotherapy' rumours

dailystar.co.uk:

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to cough and splutter, while again gripping the table, during a meeting with the boss of a state-owned defence company today (Wednesday, May 18).

During the televised chat in Moscow with Sergey Chemezov of Rostec, the despot clung to the table as he did last month during a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow, adding to rumours he is severly ill.

He also coughed several times, adding to rumours the 69-year-old is undergoing chemotherapy and steroid treatment.Putin appeared sullen and slumped as he sat across the small table from Chemezov, who he's known since their days in the KGB.Kremlin insiders have claimed that he may have cancer, and that the apparent illness might even explain his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.Yesterday (Tuesday, May 17), it was reported that Putin had emergency surgery to drain fluid from his abdomen.And the Russian president was seen hosting a virtual meeting of the country's security council on Friday, inspiring comments about his rapidly changing appearance.

An anti-Putin channel on the messaging app General SVR, which is reportedly run by a Kremlin insider, shared the allegations about Russia's leader.It insisted in the post that "Vladimir Putin did not hold this meeting in real-time."The post went on: "The introduction was pre-recorded and the closed part was played using computer graphics and Deepfake technology to create the illusion of Putin's presence."Explaining the reason for Putin's absence on Friday, it added: "On the night of Thursday, May 12 to Friday, May 13, Putin underwent a surgical procedure to remove fluid from his abdomen."It isn't known whether this abdomen-draining procedure was part of cancer treatment.However,.