Vladimir Putin has a "zip in his step" and appears "more robust" days after the tyrant allegedly underwent cancer surgery.
Since the start of his so-called "special operation" in Ukraine, the Putin's ailing appearance at state and diplomatic meetings has fuelled rumours he's riddled with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy.
He reportedly underwent "successful" abdominal surgery for the condition last week after doctors fast-tracked his operation because it was essential, according to the General SVR Telegram channel which cites insider Kremlin sources.
In footage released by state media yesterday the warmonger looked "a lot more robust" and "more confident" as he shook the hands of soldiers wounded during the war in Ukraine.
World-renowned body language expert Dr Lillian Glass told The Mirror that "there is a change" and a "psychological shift" in the 69-year-old's behaviour compared to previous appearances.
She said: "He looks a lot more confident than he did before, he has a zip in his step. He doesn’t look as stiff as he did and his walk is a little more robust than it’s been when he walked into the room.
"He reaches out his hand - it’s like he’s trotting. He's got more of a zip in his walk and he’s walking faster. His posture is pretty erect too."
Dr Glass drew attention to the moment that Putin meets the soldiers, saying he doesn't smile as he greets them but beams more and more as the meeting goes on.
She said: "That’s pretty incongruous. He does give a little smile, a slight smile.
"Now he’s got a big smile. The soldiers seem very happy."
Earlier this week, illness rumours raged when Putin was seen tapping his foot and holding onto his chair while meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
But Dr Glass believes the most recent clip shows a "change since we've last seen him".
She added: "His face is wider, but he is getting older too. That’s what usually happens.
"He reaches out, looking really happy - he touches the guys.
"The only thing you can really go by is the body language. In this moment he certainly looks robust and confident, and there’s a zip in his step."
Dr Glass said Putin seemed similarly positive while speaking during a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Forum earlier today.
This makes it less likely he was putting on the positivity for the cameras, Dr Glass explained.
"He’s consistent. He’s done it in two different environments. And he didn’t do it for a few seconds he’s pretty consistent.
"Whatever it is it’s a different Putin to what we saw.
"The surgery, whatever they took out seems to have worked."
She added: "It’s certainly made him feel better. He’s reacted a lot differently. There is a change."
A Telegram account, General SVR, which purports to be run by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service official, has also broadcast a number of Putin health claims.
The Russian Telegram Channel General SVR claimed that Putin went through surgery in the middle of the night around May 16 to 17.
The account did not state what surgery, but other rumours have said it was for abdomen cancer.
The account wrote: "The fact that Putin should be operated on as soon as possible was insisted upon by his attending physicians.
"According to the doctors involved in the treatment of the President, the operation was successful.
“We have already talked about the fact that Putin was personally absent from the information space from May 17 to May 19 and was not available even to his inner circle, with the exception of Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation."
The identity of the Telegram account is still yet to be confirmed but has been linked to numerous people from Ukraine's intelligence agencies to a prominent former Kremlin insider, and Vladislav Surkov, who Putin tasked to lead the Russian operations in the Donbas in 2014.
It comes after former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele claimed the Russian leader could not attend a meeting of his security council as he had to receive "some kind of medical treatment."
Russian scientist and historian Professor Valery Solovei also claimed that Putin received emergency surgery in February.
In April 2022, The Moscow Times said that journalist Alexei Venediktov asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov if it was correct that Putin did not have cancer, to which Peskov replied: "correct.
