Putin seen with ‘IV track marks’ on hand amid cancer rumors

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been seen in a recent video with what appear to be IV track marks on the back of his hand, reigniting rumors that he is battling cancer.

Eagle-eyed viewers watching a propaganda video that was released by Russia’s Ministry of Defense last week spotted a suspicious mark on Putin’s right hand as he was grasping a soldier’s arm while visiting a boot camp in the Ryazan region.

Kyiv Post journalist Jason Jay Smart tweeted screenshots from the video, with the mystery blemish clearly visible on the Kremlin leader’s hand.

Smart wrote that the Kremlin released two versions of the video from Putin’s trip: one with numerous watermarks obscuring the view of the hand, and another without the image of the hand.

Putin, 70, put on a show of supposed strength by firing a sniper rifle at a target while inspecting the training ground in western Russia.

He watched new conscripts’ combat exercises, was given a tour of their well-equipped living quarters and asked if they had any concerns.

The video was put out by the Ministry of Defense’s Zvezda TV channel, purportedly to counter reports that draftees were being sent to war without proper gear.

The mark seen on Putin’s hand could not be independently confirmed as resulting from intravenous treatment. Another theory, put forth by former Ukraine correspondent Tom Warner, suggested that what looks to be an IV mark could be “just a weird angle of bulgey [sic] veins.”

But Warner also drew attention to the Russian president’s “puffy” hands and face, which he attributed without evidence to “long-term steroid use.”

Rumors about Putin’s supposedly poor health have been swirling for months, fueled in large part by unsubstantiated reports from the Telegram channel General SVR, which claimed that the Kremlin strongman suffers from cancer, Parkinson’s disease and a schizoaffective disorder.

The channel reported that Putin appeared to be in pain during last month’s event in Red Square celebrating the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, and more recently during last week’s meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

“Putin’s oncology is progressing and, despite adequate treatment lately, the pain is not always completely relieved,” a recent post on the General SVR channel stated.

“It must be understood that the deplorable state of the president’s physical and mental health affects the adoption of key decisions. Putin doesn’t want to change history, he wants to end it.”

The Russian independent outlet Proekt claimed that Putin is always accompanied by medics, among them top oncologists, whenever he goes on official visits.

After Putin canceled a trip to Kazakhstan in July, sparking rumors that he was unwell, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov made a rare statement addressing his physical state, telling reporters that “everything is fine with his heath.”

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado around the same time, CIA Director William Burns poured cold water on speculations surrounding the Russian leader’s health.

“There are lots of rumors about President Putin’s health and as far as we can tell, he’s entirely too healthy,” he told the audience.