Vladimir Putin's health has been failing for more than five years, a new investigation into the deteriorating dictator's condition has claimed.
The Russian president has vanished from public eye for weeks on end since 2017, it has been suggested.
Independent Russian media outlet Proekt carried out the study and scrutinised his absences as well as visits by specialist medics.
Hush-hush doctor visits in the past five years prove his health has been getting worse for some time, Express.co.uk report.
It comes as former spy Christopher Steele, who ran the Russia desk at MI6 in London, says Putin is seriously ill and is now in need of around-the-clock medical care.
He believes the mysterious illness that has plagued the president, 69, has left the Kremlin reeling as they balance dealing with Putin's health and the war in Ukraine.
There has been a string of claims about the health of the leader, with some reports suggesting he is suffering from cancer, undergoing chemotherapy and steroid treatment among other ailments.
Other reports suggest Putin is suffering from Parkinson's or early-stage dementia.
The Proekt investigation found doctors accompanied the ailing leader wherever he went during 2016 and 2017.
By comparing doctors’ check-in dates with Putin’s schedule, Proekt found that between five and 13 doctors accompanied Putin at all times.
These medics included an Ear Nose and Throat specialist, an infectious disease specialist, a neurosurgeon and an oncologist, among others according to the outlet.
In November 2016, Putin disappeared from the public eye for approximately six days and only appeared in pre-recorded meetings according to Proekt.
During this time, 12 specialist doctors checked into Sochi hospital, near one of Putin's residences. These doctors included neurosurgeons, his personal doctors and a rehabilitation specialist.
The Russian leader then disappeared in August 2017 and again in February 2018. In February, the Kremlin claimed that Putin “had caught a cold”.
During the 2017 disappearance, top oncologist-surgeon Evgeny Selivanov began visiting Putin, according to Proekt. The outlet claimed that the cancer-doctor visited the Russian President 35 times in four years, with only ENT specialists seeing him more often.,
The doctor's thesis is entitled: “Peculiarities of diagnostics and surgical treatment of elderly and senile patients with thyroid cancer”.
In 2017, Putin, who is an avid hockey player, fell on the ice during a game. He was able to leave the arena on his own, although an orthopaedic traumatologist known to treat him checked into a hospital near his home following the incident.
Proekt reports that by 2019, Putin had an average of nine doctors accompanying him.
Finally, during the Covid pandemic, The New York Times reported Putin was imposing strict quarantine measures on anyone who was due to see him in person.
Anyone he met had to isolate for two weeks before meeting the president before walking through a disinfectant tunnel which sprayed them with a sterilising aerosol. The tunnels reportedly shined UV lights to further disinfect visitors.
More recently, videos of Putin looking bloated and puffy have further fuelled rumours about his health problems.
