Putin cancels annual speeches due to appearance problems - lawmaker Nalyvaichenko

He said this on Espreso TV. 

“The biggest thing that harms Putin's health, and we all hope that it will be such a fatal harm, is the Ukrainian Armed Forces' successes and the failures of the occupying Russian troops, including their mercenaries, who were taken even from prisons. And this, in fact, I can confirm, is murderous information for Putin, since only he started this war and only he continues it against Ukraine, giving criminal orders,” the former head of Ukraine's Security Service noted. 

Valentyn Nalyvaichenko added that Kremlin propagandists are broadcasting some alleged meetings between Putin and the military with fake actors, but it's all pre-recorded, last year's staged theatrical shots.

“There is open information that for the first time in decades, and this is really anomalous, Putin refused the annual final interviews, press conferences and even the message to his Federal Assembly. He basically disappeared at the end of 2022, he was simply removed. According to my information, Putin's doctors are seriously concerned about his state of health. It is clear that the old man is over 70 and has internal diseases. Now there is rejection and other processes in the area of ​​Putin's face, which is why he has been publicly hidden for more than one week. And when he will appear, no one knows. We would like him not to appear at all. However, these are internal conversations and conspiratorial things, and in fact, the serious thing is that the unpopularity of the war in Russia and the huge losses, primarily among the mobilized, are growing geometrically,” Nalyvaichenko noted.

• Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War explained why the president of the Russian Federation appears in public more often. One of the reasons is that Putin began to think more about his popularity and image in Russia

• Russian leader Vladimir Putin is trying to absolve himself of responsibility for the protracted war in Ukraine