President Vladimir Putin is renowned for never wanting to show weakness, but a now-deleted video from the Kremlin has raised concerns.
Over the years, promotional photos of the Russian leader, 73, have featured him riding horses, fishing in a forest, or carrying a rifle, all while shirtless.
Keen to project an image of alpha masculinity, the new video is at odds of this image of perfect health that Putin and his team are at pains to portray.
A video was shared on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel over the weekend to mark International Women’s Day, but it was quickly deleted and replaced with an edited version.
In the original, according to The Moscow Times, Putin was seen coughing and spluttering as he tried to give a speech, adding to the list of supposed health concerns the Russian president has faced over the years.
The now-deleted video is at odds with the image of health Putin has been careful to portray over the years (Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
In the now-deleted video, Putin is seen struggling over his words, before pointing at his throat and saying hoarsely to the person behind the camera: “You know, let me say that again, because… my throat’s a bit scratchy.
“Yes, a bit scratchy. I almost started coughing. I’ve been talking a lot today.”
After the false start, Putin then gave a speech to mark International Women’s Day, which is of particular importance in Russia.
The Kremlin accidentally published an unedited video of Vladimir Putin delivering his greetings to Russian women for International Women’s Day.
“My throat’s a bit scratchy… I almost started coughing. I’ve been talking a lot today,” he says.
Read more: https://t.co/BYAJLt6yzL pic.twitter.com/0od9fj98Of
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) March 8, 2026
The day served as a key moment in the 1917 Revolution. On 8 March that year, women workers in Petrograd staged a mass strike demanding peace and bread, which spread around the country.
Putin’s speech said: “A generous, compassionate and truly wise feminine soul makes the world a better and kinder place, and a mother’s love remains in every person’s heart for life.”
After the speedy deletion, Kremlin spokesperson Alexander Yushanev insisted it was a simple ‘weekend mistake’.
Putin pictured topless on horseback in 2009 (ALEXEY DRUZHININ/RIA NOVOSTI/AFP via Getty Images)
He said: “According to my information, no extraordinary investigation… is being conducted in the Presidential Administration regarding the unedited Putin’s greeting that was posted online.”
“It’s just a weekend mistake, which can happen to anyone. And it’s not the first time with the Kremlin itself, by the way. Everywhere, so far, real people are working, not AI,” he insisted.
“Did someone seriously think that all video materials are written in one attempt, or that a person can’t clear their throat after a nearly three-minute speech?”
One Pro-Kremlin supporter insisted the video release wasn’t a mistake, and instead feared sabotage.
Putin was seen coughing and spluttering and pointing at his throat (Kremlin)
According to the Daily Express, blogger Lev Vershinin wrote on Telegram: “Anyone with even a passing understanding of the behind-the-scenes process will confirm that this shouldn’t have been possible. They couldn’t have failed to check before publishing it. In systemic terms, it looks like a revolt.”
Ukrainian journalist Denys Kazansky suggested those closest to Putin had become fed up of ‘this ailing, senile old man’ and alleged someone released it deliberately, the Telegraph reports.
He hit out at Putin, writing: “You try to present yourself as a young, strong leader, and then someone leaks a single video and your whole image crumbles.”
The video follows long-standing rumours and concerns around Putin’s health, which the Kremlin have continously dismissed.
Onlookers reported seeing Putin ‘limping’ as he went to greet Donald Trump last year (Photo by Kremlin Press Service / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In 2022, Putin was seen clutching a table throughout a meeting with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu; meanwhile, another meeting with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko appeared to show him shaking ‘uncontrollably’, according to The Independent.
Aside from this, further claims about Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and a ‘mini-stroke’ have also been made. And in 2025, the Mirror reported that he was seen ‘limping’ as he exited his presidential plane in Alaska for the peace summit with Donald Trump regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, Putin has himself previously dismissed speculation about his health in 2015, calling it ‘gossip’, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov branded 2020 reports about Parkinson’s disease as being ‘absolute nonsense’.
“Everything is fine with the president,” he said, adding that Putin had no plans to step down in the future.
Featured Image Credit: Kremlin
