Kremlin Denies Rumors Of Putin Being Seriously Sick With Cancer

Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, has gone on record to deny rumors that his country’s President, Vladimir Putin, has been seriously ill from cancer.

The diplomat argued to French outlet TF1 that Putin “appears in public every day. You can see him on the screens, read his speeches, listen to his speeches. I don’t think sane people can discern any sort of symptom of disease in this man.”

Lavrov is clearly working to dispell speculation that has arisen from Putin’s public appearances, during which observers have latched onto details like the leader’s more stiff body language, and more blotchy colored and bloating cheeks, as signs that his health has deteriorated this year.

Some of the last figures to speculate on Putin’s health were the Ukrainian Major General Kyrolo Budanov, who claimed that Putin is in, “very bad psychological condition and physical health.”

Another voice claiming to know Putin is ill was Christopher Steele, a former MI6 official who became infamous for penning the “Steele dossier,” which claimed that Russia had gathered compromising information on Donald Trump before his election in 2016.

Steele told Sky News that his sources “in Russia and elsewhere” confirmed Putin’s condition. “It’s not clear exactly what the illness is – whether it’s incurable or terminal, or whatever. But certainly, I think it’s part of the equation.”