Vladimir Putin's health plummeted after he launched a war on Ukraine and is being treated with drugs for his "visual" health problems, his former speechwriter claims.
Abbas Gallyamov suggests that the Russian president's health has improved after rumours implied he was unwell.
But according to Gallyamov, this could be due to the medication he is taking.
"When I was working in the Kremlin Putin was perfectly healthy," he told the Daily Express.
According to Abbas Gallyamov, Putin's improvement in health could be due to the medication he is taking
Reuters"Last year there were absolutely visual, noticeable signs of his health deteriorating. His hand was shaking, he could hardly control himself sometimes.
"This year he looks better. Probably last year it was due to the shock that his army turned out to be a paper tiger.
"Now he seems to have learned to control himself, maybe with the help of drugs."
His comments follow rumours that Putin suffered a cardiac arrest which were rejected by the Kremlin.
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At the time, a Telegram account announced: “Attention! There is currently an attempted coup in Russia! Russian President Vladimir Putin died this evening at his residence in Valdai. At 20.42 Moscow time, doctors stopped resuscitation and pronounced death.
“Now the doctors are blocked in the room with Putin’s corpse, they are being held by members of the presidential security service on the personal orders of Dmitry Kochnev who is in touch and receives instructions from the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev.
“Security for the president's double has been beefed up. Active negotiations are underway. Any attempt to pass off a double as the president after Putin’s death is a coup.”
Putin then began to appear in public after the health hearsay surfaced.
Putin then began to appear in public after the health hearsay surfaced
REUTERSDenying the claims, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “These [kinds of stories] belong to the category of fake news, discussed with enviable tenacity by a number of media outlets. This brings nothing but a smile [in the Kremlin].
“Perhaps you have heard that Putin has multiple doubles, who work instead of him while he is sitting inside a bunker.
“This is yet more lies. This is one more lie. You see our president. He is just as he used to be, mega-active.”
