Nervous, Vladimir? Putin’s odd leg twitching returns as he sits opposite Kim Jong Un ahead of discussions to buy much-needed artillery from North Korea
- Video shows Putin bizarrely twisting his foot and struggling with twitching leg
- He met with Kim Jong Un today at Russian space base to discuss arms deal
New footage shows Vladimir Putin bizarrely twisting his foot and apparently struggling with a twitching leg during his meeting with Kim Jong Un, further adding to rumours the Russian despot is struggling with a decline in his health.
As the two dictators sat down at a Russian space base for a meeting, video shows Putin repeatedly raising and then lowering his left foot as his knee collapsed inward.
Putin later adjusted his position in the chair but his left foot appeared to continue erratically flexing as Kim told the Russian leader he was fighting a ‘sacred war’ with the West and their two countries would together battle with ‘imperialism’.
It comes as the two leaders are set to discuss Kim supplying Russia with much needed artillery shells and antitank missiles to help with Putin’s gruelling war in Ukraine during the rare state visit.
The 70-year-old has been dogged by claims of his declining health, mental state and unstable position since long before he ordered his invasion of Ukraine. But in the 18 months since, the rumours have only intensified as the war appears to have taken its toll.
New footage shows Vladimir Putin bizarrely twisting his foot and apparently struggling with a twitching leg during his meeting with Kim Jong Un , further adding to rumours the Russian despot is struggling with a sharp decline in health
As the two dictators sat down at a Russian space base for a meeting, video shows Putin repeatedly raising and then lowering his left foot as his knee collapsed inward
Putin later adjusted his position in the chair but his left foot appeared to continue erratically flexing as Kim told the Russian leader he was fighting a ‘sacred war’ with the West and their two countries would together battle with ‘imperialism’
Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky
Putin and Kim look to the skies at the Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region in Rusia on Wednesday
Other footage from official meetings and appearances has shown Putin gripping a table for support, tapping his feet seemingly uncontrollably, and looking unsteady as he walked.
And now, the video of Putin bizarrely twisting his left foot throughout the sit-down meeting with Kim will do nothing to dispel the rumours of his failing health.
READ MORE: The warmonger and the tyrant: Putin and Kim Jong Un shake hands at Russian space base ahead of sanctions-busting arms deal
Parkinson’s disease – a brain disorder which affects motor skills – is one condition frequently cited by commentators which Putin could be facing.
Restless legs syndrome – an uncontrollable urge to move ones lower limbs and feet – is a symptom often exhibited by Parkinson’s sufferers.
Earlier today, the Russian warmonger shook hands enthusiastically with Kim as soon as he stepped out of his black limousine and said he was ‘very glad to see him’.
Putin then showed off this rockets to Kim at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russian’s modern space rocket launch site which is nestled among the forests of eastern Russia.
The leaders, both of whom are known to be paranoid about assassination attempts, were flanked by a number of bodyguards during the visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
The two men later met one-on-one for a meeting, during with Kim told Putin that Russia was fighting a ‘sacred’ war with the West.
‘Russia has risen to a sacred fight to protect its sovereignty and security… against the hegemonic forces,’ Kim. one of the few leaders who has stuck by the despot since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 19 months ago, told Putin.
‘We will always support the decisions of President Putin and the Russian leadership… and we will be together in the fight against imperialism.’
But it was during this meeting that Putin’s leg began twitching seemingly uncontrollably, with the Russian despot bizarrely twisting his foot up and down.
Rumours have been circling for years that Vladimir Putin is suffering from health problems, and they have intensified since he launched his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Last year, he was seen hobbling off a plane in Iran with a limp arm and also twisting his foot – as he did with Kim – during a meeting with Belarus dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Shaking is one of the main symptoms of Parkinson’s – a condition that Hitler is thought to have suffered from towards the end of the Second World War.
As Putin sat down with Lukashenko he was seen gripping the arm of his chair – perhaps in an attempt to head off any more shaking.
He was also seen squirming in his chair and repeatedly tapping both of his feet on the floor while gripping an armrest with one hand during a rambling speech in front of young Russians.
He then pulled a similar pose – this time gripping the edge of a table – while meeting defence minister Sergei Shoigu a few weeks later.
Then came an Easter Sunday mass during which the Russian leader made unusual fidgeting motions with his lips while listening to the service.
He could be seen making the same lip motions following Monday’s Victory Day parade, as he walked with Shoigu to lay a wreath.
Putin gripped the armrest of his chair during a meeting with Alexander Lukashenko earlier this year, after footage showed his arm shaking
APRIL 21 2022: Putin is seen gripping his desk with his right hand while meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in the early stages of the war. The footage from the meeting raised questions about Putin’s health
Vladimir Putin (centre) watched part of Victory Day parade in Moscow last year with a blanket draped over his lap, while geriatric war veterans sat around him uncovered
Critics and Kremlin sources have indicated he may be suffering from cancer of Parkinson’s, supported by footage showing the leader shaking uncontrollably and gripping a table for support.
He has also disappeared from the public eye for weeks at a time, with suggestions he is undergoing surgery.
Valery Solovey, professor at Moscow State Institute of Foreign Affairs first hinted at Putin’s health problems, said in 2020 that Putin had undergone surgery for cancer.
Another unnamed source suggested the operation was on Putin’s abdomen.
He said: ‘One is of a psycho-neurological nature, the other is a cancer problem.
‘If anyone is interested in the exact diagnosis, I’m not a doctor, and I have no ethical right to reveal these problems.
‘The second diagnosis is a lot, lot more dangerous than the first named diagnosis as Parkinson’s does not threaten physical state, but just limits public appearances.
‘Based on this information people will be able to make a conclusion about his life horizon, which wouldn’t even require specialist medical education.’
The Kremlin has consistently denied that there is anything wrong with Putin’s health.
Others have previously noted his ‘gunslinger’s gait’ – a clearly reduced right arm swing compared to his left, giving him a lilting swagger.
An asymmetrically reduced arm swing is a classic feature of Parkinson’s and can manifest in ‘clinically intact subjects with a predisposition to later develop’ the disease, according to the British Medical Journal.
It comes as Putin met with Kim Jong Un today and toasted the ‘strengthening of future cooperation’ with North Korea as he hosted the reclusive country’s leader in an official dinner in the Russian Far East.
Putin points into the air during a visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome with Kim on Wendnesday
Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd-L) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (3d-R), accompanied by head of Russian state space corporation Roscosmos Yuri Borisov (L), visit the Vostochny cosmodrome
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome
‘A toast to the future strengthening of cooperation and friendship between our countries,’ Putin said, raising his glass in footage aired by Russian state television.
‘For the well-being and prosperity of our nations, for the health of the chairman and all of those present,’ he added.
Putin stood up to make the toast, with his foreign and defence ministers sitting next to him and facing Kim and the North Korean delegation.
He praised Moscow and Pyongyang’s historical ties, quoting a Russian proverb that ‘an old friend is better than two new ones.’
‘Our relations were established back in Korea’s fight for freedom in 1945, when Soviet and Korean soldiers fought side by side against Japanese militarists,’ Putin said.
‘And today we also strive to strengthen the bonds of camaraderie and good neighbourliness,’ he said. ‘We act in the name of peace, stability and prosperity of our common region.’
The meeting underscores how the two leaders’ interests are aligning in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the US and the West.
Washington has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia, but it is unclear whether any deliveries have been made. Both Russia and North Korea have denied those claims, but promised to deepen defence cooperation.
When asked whether the two leaders would talk about obtaining supplies from the North to replenish Moscow’s dwindling stock of weapons and ammunition, Putin said they would discuss ‘all issues’.
And asked whether Russia will help North Korea build satellites, Putin said: ‘That’s why we have come here. The [North Korean] leader shows keen interest in rocket technology. They’re trying to develop space, too.’
Kim said his decision to visit Russia four years after his previous visit showed how Pyongyang is ‘prioritising the strategic importance’ of its relations with Moscow, North Korea’s official news agency said on Wednesday.
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