Is Putin really in good health?

Soon after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February a rash of stories appeared in the western media speculating that the Russian president was dying, or at least very seriously ill. The evidence offered was circumstantial but superficially compelling. This ranged from the absurdly long tables the dictator uses to keep his distance from his aides, to analysis of such symptoms as his awkwardly shaking limbs and puffy face. There were also reports that Putin keeps a top cancer specialist in his entourage at all times.

Now, no less an authority than the boss of the CIA, William Burns, has poured a douche of cold water on such wishful thinking. Addressing a security conference at Aspen, Colorado, Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, said that there was no real evidence that Putin was sick. On the contrary, Burns believes that the Russian leader – who turns 70 this year – is in rude good health and bent on his goal of restoring Russia to great power status.