Vladimir Putin is facing yet more questions over his apparent poor health after he was seen with a swollen face and bloated hands.
Putin’s health has long sparked debate. In late 2025, people spotted bulging veins and unusual fist-clenching as he shook hands with a health expert.
Over the weekend, Russia celebrated the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany with an unusually muted Victory Day parade that featured no armoured vehicles or ballistic missiles.
But only few listened to Putin’s claims at the rally in Moscow of fighting a ‘just’ war against Ukraine’s ‘aggressive force[s]’ – instead focusing on his bulging cheeks.
Ukrainian commentator Anton Gerashchenko pointed to one unflattering image of the 73-year-old ex-spy, posting: ‘The face of a “victor” and the leader of a “superpower”.’
He joked: ‘It seems sanctions have even reached Putin’s Botox.’
Monitoring group Crimean Wind added: ‘History shows that many dictators visibly aged before the fall of their regime or their death.’
Scientists link this to chronic stress, paranoid fear of losing power, and isolation, which accelerate the body’s ageing.’
