The Kremlin has sought to play down an embarrassing clip of Russian President Vladimir Putin suffering a coughing fit amid claims the footage may have been deliberately leaked to undermine his power.
The clip of the 73-year-old Russian leader—who likes to portray himself as a macho strongman—struggling to speak and coughing repeatedly while trying to record an address marking International Women’s Day was shared Sunday on the Kremlin’s official Telegram channel.
“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,” Putin said in the video, according to The Moscow Times.
The clip was live for only a few minutes before the Kremlin uploaded a shortened version of the footage marking the March 8 holiday.
The blunder sparked speculation among Russian and Ukrainian commentators that the footage may have been leaked on purpose in an attempt to undermine the tough public persona carefully cultivated by Putin and his allies.
Kremlin press pool reporter Alexander Yunashev, however, was quick to jump in and change that narrative, saying the video was nothing more than a “weekend mistake” and that no one will face punishment for it.
“According to my information, the presidential administration is not conducting any extraordinary investigation or debriefing on the unedited congratulations from Putin that were posted online,” Yunashev wrote on Telegram.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also brushed off the release of the video as a “mistake,” but added that the Kremlin will do “everything possible to prevent this from happening again.”
Pro-Kremlin Telegram blogger Lev Vershinin was among those who suggested the leak of the original video was an attempt to undermine Putin.
“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,” Vershinin wrote on Telegram. “In systemic terms, it looks like a revolt.”
Like 79-year-old Donald Trump, the condition of Putin’s hands has also sparked speculation about the Russian leader’s health. In November 2025, Putin appeared in public with swollen, veiny hands while looking gaunt and seemingly shaking.
Two months before images of Putin’s hands went viral, he was overheard speaking with Chinese leader Xi Jinping about harvesting human organs in order to “achieve immortality.”
For several years, there have also been unverified claims that Putin is suffering from health issues such as cancer or Parkinson’s disease, all of which the Kremlin has repeatedly and strenuously denied.
