"I don't think that sane people can see in this person signs of illness or ailment' - Putin is not suffering from a serious ailment, according to Russia.

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The Russian administration has dismissed frequent rumors that Russian President Vladimir Putin's health is deteriorating.



Putin, who turns 70 this year, has been the subject of increasing unverified media speculation that he is unwell, potentially with cancer.



Because he gave the order to start the ill-fated invasion of Ukraine and has ultimate power over the use of Russia's enormous nuclear arsenal, Western intelligence agencies have been keeping a careful eye on Putin's mental and physical health.



However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refuted that Putin is ill, adding that "sane people" can see that he is not.



In an interview with French television, Lavrov stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen in public every day.

While repeating the Kremlin's widely discredited line that Russia is fighting a "neo-Nazi regime", Lavrov also said the "liberation" of the eastern region of Ukraine was an "unconditional priority" for Russia.

 

 Lavrov told TF1: "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," he said in comments released by the Russian foreign ministry.

"I leave it to the conscience of those who spread such rumours despite daily opportunities to assess how anyone is looking."

 

Asked about the devastating artillery and rocket attacks on some urban areas, which has killed at least 4,031 civilians since the invasion of Ukraine,
Lavrov insisted Russian soldiers were "under strict orders categorically to avoid attacks and strikes on civilian infrastructure".

Lavrov added that winning in "the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, recognised by the Russian Federation as independent states, is an unconditional priority".