The incident has raised questions about Putin's health
Vladimir Putin was forced to stop filming a television broadcast commemorating International Women's Day after he started coughing and spluttering beyond control.
The Russian president, 73, had to reshoot the recording. In what appears to be an oversight by his propaganda setup, the complete sequence was originally broadcast, exposing the coughing episode to audiences.
The clip is set to spark renewed speculation regardingPutin's well-being, after previous disclosures from investigative reporters revealed that he never journeys without a leading thyroid cancer specialist surgeon. Ukrainian sources also suggested that an insider might have intentionally released thehumiliating footage.
Military expert Denis Kazansky commented: "You build an image of a young and strong leader [Putin], and then someone leaks one video, and this whole image collapses, and a sick, decrepit old man appears before everyone. It seems that it was leaked on purpose, because the sick senile man has annoyed everyone.", reportsthe Mirror.
The footage was mistakenly published by the Kremlin(Image: Kremlin.ru/e2w)
Putin had been filming a tribute honouring International Women's Day on March 8, a significant celebration inRussia, addressing women: "Of course, it's very challenging to juggle everything - to impress with your beauty and charm whilst simultaneously being hard-working, determined, and resilient.
He battled through to the conclusion of the text whilst attempting to stifle his cough before informing his team: "You know, let me say it again, because I had a tickle in my throat. I almost coughed."
He attributed the raspiness to excessive speaking, stating: "I spoke a lot today."
However, he then started coughing persistently, occasionally lifting his hand to cover his mouth.
Source: Drudge Report
