A recent handshake between Vladimir Putin and a health expert has ignited speculation about his health, as observant viewers noted the presence of bulging veins on his hands and an unusual tendency to clench his fists.

During a meeting with Yekaterina Leshchinskaya, a 22-year-old leader of the Healthy Fatherland movement, Putin, 73, addressed the potential ban on e-cigarettes in Russia. However, the focus quickly shifted to the noticeable marks on his hands.

As Putin extended his hand for a handshake, observers couldn’t help but notice the prominent veins, tendons, and the thin, wrinkled skin on his right hand.

Video footage captured the Russian leader seemingly fidgeting with his fingers and clenching them into a fist, concealed under his blazer sleeve.

After the footage made its rounds on social media, Ukrainian sources speculated that the Russian president might be experiencing some discomfort or pain.

Dmytro Gordon, a well-known interviewer and media figure, commented on the situation, noting, “Putin clenches his hands into something resembling fists.”

‘They look swollen and sore, with veins bulging prominently on one hand.’

Other source say that Putin merely exhibits the normal signs of male ageing which he seeks – through alleged cosmetic surgery – to hide from Russians after more than a quarter of a century in power.

 Putin, 73, met with Yekaterina Leshchinskaya, 22, a representative of Poland ‘s official National Health Program to discuss the possibility of banning the sale of e-cigarettes in Russia when the marks on his hands were noticed

As he reached to shake the woman’s hand, the Russian leader’s right hand was seen with visible bulging veins, prominent tendons, and thin, wrinkled skin

Following the circulation of the clip on social media, Ukrainian sources have suggested that the Russian dictator may be suffering from pain

The footage has reignited rumours around the Russian president’s health, but the Kremlin has dismissed all suggestions that the Russian leader is ill as ‘hoaxes’. 

It comes two months after Putin and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, 72, enthusiastically discussed biological innovations which might allow them to live to 150.

Putin told his fellow despot: ‘Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become.’

In an overheard conversation in China, Xi told Putin: ‘People used to rarely live to 70, but now at 70 you are still a child.’

This is not the first time Putin’s health has been quizzed, however, as in November last year, the leader displayed some bizarre jerky leg movements on a trip to Astana, Kazakhstan.

As he spoke at a press conference, he gripped the lectern in front of him as his legs twitched, seemingly uncontrollably.

The twitching started with his left foot, and he appeared to take a wider stance to steady himself. Then, both knees started wobbling side to side, and he put his left leg forward before it started jerking up and down.

When shown the video, Dr Bob Berookhim, a urologist in New York, told the Daily Mail several culprits could be at play. 

‘There are a few different things that could lead to movements like this, including Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions,’ he said.

‘Based on just a few images and videos that are curated by Russia, it is hard to say what someone is dealing with here, but there may be something more significant going on with him that would tie everything together.’

Pressed on whether it could indicate Parkinson’s, he said, ‘It wouldn’t be an isolated thing like that, it would usually be more related to ongoing treatment for that kind of jelly leg movement – a one off means much less.’

The ‘jelly legs’ incident came a month after Putin was seen repeatedly rubbing and scratching his face and neck during an appearance at a fencing center in the city of Ufa.

Putin’s face appears much thinner as he travels in an armored train in 2012

Putin appears fuller around the face and neck during an inauguration ceremony in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, on May 7, 2024

There was similar itching and scratching the previous day in Moscow.

Putin has also, on several occasions in recent years, displayed distinctly puffy facial features.

Notably, in November 2023, his face appeared much fuller, leading a senior Ukrainian official to ask, ‘What’s up with Putin’s cheeks?’

Bloating around the face and neck can be a sign that someone is being treated with steroids.

‘This puffy face could be the look of someone who gets steroid treatments, which could be for a variety of reasons, whether inflammatory conditions, or pain, or part of a treatment for something more significant that could cause him to take on this appearance,’ said Dr Berookhim. ‘It could also be weight gain.

Some doctors have said it could be allergies or a sinus or tooth infection. Others suggested Putin was receiving Botox injections.

One cancer charity warned that, ‘when taken in higher doses, steroids can cause confusion or changes in thinking. This can include having strange or frightening thoughts.’ 

The theory that Putin has been treated by cancer specialists stems mainly from a 2022 report by the Russian investigative outlet Proekt, which looked at trips the Russian president took to his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

By cross-referencing the dates with bookings at nearby hotels, it reported that an oncology surgeon specializing in thyroid cancer had visited 35 times and spent 166 days there.

Two ear, nose and throat specialists were there even more often, according to the report. Typically, specialists diagnose thyroid problems before an oncologist is called in.

In 2019 Putin was said to have had an average of nine doctors with him, including and intensive care specialist, an anesthetist and a neurosurgeon.

The Kremlin dismissed the report as ‘fiction and untruth’.

Then, in 2022, an unverified recording emerged of what was said to be a Russian oligarch, who was secretly recorded saying Putin was ‘very ill with blood cancer’.

In February of the same year, Marco Rubio, then a senator, dropped a heavy hint there may be something wrong with Putin.

At the time, Rubio was part of the ‘Gang of Eight’ members of Congress with access to extremely sensitive classified intelligence.

He said: Putin ‘appears to have some neurophysiological health issues.’

‘I wish I could share more, but for now, I can say it’s pretty obvious to many that something is off with Putin,’ he said at the time. ‘He has always been a killer, but his problem now is different and significant’.

More recently, in 2025, claims spread that Putin had sent a doppelganger on a visit to the front line in the Kursk region.

Photographs from the event showed him with a noticeably thinner body and face.

It was also noticeable that he used handwritten notes, rather than Putin’s usual printed ones, and they were smaller than the president’s normal large type.

Japanese AI researchers have claimed there are two regular doubles used by Putin.

They analysed his speeches to see if the voices matched each other, and used facial recognition technology.

Body double? Vladimir Putin drives a Mercedes over the missile-damaged Crimean Bridge in 2022

It was found that there was only a 53 percent facial similarity between the Putin at a Red Square parade in May 2023, and the Putin pictured on the Crimean Bridge in December 2022.

The Putin at the 2023 parade showed only a 40 percent match to the Putin who visited Mariupol and talked to residents two months before.

Similarity between the Crimean Bridge Putin, and the one in Mariupol was only 18 percent.

Speculation about doubles has led to wild conspiracy theories that Putin could already have died, and been replaced by a doppelganger.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman said the theory ‘belongs to the category of absurd information hoaxes that a whole series of media discuss with enviable tenacity. This evokes nothing but a smile.’

A reporter for the Russian news agency TASS subsequently asked Putin in February 2020: ‘Are you real?’

Putin replied ‘Yes’ but added that it had been suggested by his security officials.

‘I declined these body doubles,’ he added at the time. ‘This was during the most difficult periods of the fight against terrorism.’