Vladimir Putin filmed appearing to be unable to use right arm when attacked by mosquitos
Vladimir Putin’s health is under fresh scrutiny after he was filmed at an event to mark Russia's Navy Day. WATCH VIDEO
World
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Vladimir Putin’s health has come under fresh scrutiny after he was seen unable to move his right arm while being given a tour of a military museum as part of a weekend of festivities marking Russia's Navy Day.
The Russian President is also seen apparently limping as he walks next to the daughter of his Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
In the footage, the Kremlin chief can be seen speaking with Shoigu’s daughter Ksenia, who was showing him around a military museum for which she heads, when mosquitoes begin buzzing around the right side of his face.
Mr Putin is seen being attacked by mosquitoes on the right side of his face, before he raises his left arm in an attempt to swat them away while his right arm hangs limply by his side.
The 69-year-old continues to itch and swat all around his head with one arm before walking alongside Ksenia with a slight limp as she continues her tour.
These are the latest videos to emerge over the past few months showing the Russian president walking with a limp, struggling with strange ticks including odd foot and leg contortions, and uncoordinated movement.
But the Kremlin insists Mr Putin is in good health, and there are even rumours his “mistress” gymnast Alina Kabaeva, 39, is expecting a new baby.
And despite his apparent ill health, the tyrant was clear in his threat to the West when bragging about Moscow’s new missiles whilst also being vague about where the weapons would be based, according to Reuters.
“The key thing here is the capability of the Russian navy,” Mr Putin said.
“It is able to respond with lightning speed to all who decides to infringe on our sovereignty and freedom.”
The new doctrine he signed casts NATO‘s expansion toward Russia as an existential threat to Moscow. The idea of Ukraine joining NATO was among Putin’s justifications for invading Ukraine in February.
ONE OF UKRAINE’S RICHEST MEN KILLED
It comes as one of Ukraine’s richest men was killed after a targeted Russian missile hit his home.
Grain exporter Oleksiy Vadaturksy and his wife Raisa died after a missile slammed into their home in the southern city of Mykolaiv Saturday night, according to the BBC.
The 74-year-old owned Ukrainian agricultural company Nibulon, and was considered one of the war-torn nation’s most successful business figures.
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy maintained that Vadaturksy was targeted by Russian forces and that the missile landed in his home’s bedroom.
Vadaturksy was seen as a major player in Ukraine’s grain exporting industry that has been crippled by the ongoing conflict.
Local leader Vitaliy Kim told the BBC that the businessman’s “contribution to the development of the agricultural and shipbuilding industry, the development of the region is invaluable”.
UKRAINE CITIES HIT BY ‘STRONGEST’ RUSSIAN STRIKES
The United Nations and the Red Cross have demanded access to the prison where dozens of Ukrainian POWs were killed, but Russia has so far met their requests with silence.
The UN wants to investigate the attack in the town of Olenivka in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, which Moscow said killed 53 Ukrainian POWs and wounded another 75.
Ukraine maintains that Thursday night’s deadly shelling was a “war crime,” while Russia claims Ukraine launched the missiles that destroyed the building. Both sides say the attack was premeditated and intended to silence the prisoners inside and destroy evidence of potential atrocities.
“We are ready to send a team of experts capable of conducting an investigation with the permission of the parties,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman of the UN Secretary-General, told Russian media. He said the probe would require consent from all sides, and added that the UN supports the Red Cross’ efforts to gain access to the site.
The prison housed nearly 200 troops captured in Mariupol, the scene of many of the war’s worst atrocities, including many who held out in the Azovstal steel plant outside the city during weeks of brutal fighting.
Late Saturday, Russia’s Defence Ministry issued a list naming 48 Ukrainian fighters who died in the attack, aged 20 to 62. It was not immediately clear if the list was intended to be complete, suggesting that fewer people had died than initially stated, or if some names were missing.
Russia has not yet said when and how the dead soldiers’ bodies might be retrieved, Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
“I have requested this information. So far, we have not yet received the lists. I know that the Russian side has them, but we do not have them at present,” Lubinets said. “I can only obtain the overall numbers – that is, how many [prisoners] were held there, how many have been killed, how many have been injured.
Family members of the POWs are desperate for information as well.
“At the moment, my husband is not on the lists and I believe that he is alive,” Alina Nesterenko, whose husband was taken to the prison after surrendering at Azovstal, told the Guardian. “But lots of the guys are dead, lots of the guys are injured in Olenivka.”
“Three of us haven’t heard anything (from the Ukrainian authorities) so we assume they are fine, another girl’s husband was wounded and then there’s another whose husband was in the barrack that was hit, but she has not heard anything,” said Nesterenko.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it requested access “to determine the health and condition of all the people present on-site at the time of the attack.”
“Our priority right now is making sure that the wounded receive lifesaving treatment and that the bodies of those who lost their lives are dealt with in a dignified manner,” the Red Cross said in a statement.
Ukraine and Russia, meanwhile, continued to trade accusations about who was responsible for the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the deaths “a deliberate Russian war crime, a deliberate mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war,” in a video address posted on Facebook late Friday. “There should be a clear legal recognition of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.”
UKRAINE PRISONER ‘CASTRATED’ IN SHOCKING VIDEO
It comes as a horrific video appeared to show Russian soldiers holding a prisoner of war to the ground to cut off his genitalia and raising them like a trophy.
It comes as Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of bombing a jail holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian-held territory, with Russia saying 40 prisoners and eight prison staff were killed.
“Russia has to pay for it,” said Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun, who tweeted out the footage.
Ms Sovsun said she was banned from Twitter for posting the video, which News Corp Australia is choosing not to publish.
“@Twitter decided it was too cruel. But this is what happens. And deleting the video won’t change that. People should know what #Russia is doing!” she said in a follow-up tweet with the footage blurred.
— Inna Sovsun (@InnaSovsun) July 29, 2022
It is unclear where or when precisely the footage was filmed, and the contents have not been independently verified beyond Ms Sovsun’s claim.
But Aric Toler, a researcher at the investigative website Bellingcat, told the Times there was no evidence the footage was manipulated and that it was likely genuine.
In the video, the prisoner in Ukrainian uniform is castrated with a box knife before his torturers hold his genitalia up to the camera.
Ms Sovsun wrote in her since deleted tweet that the Russian soldier was from the “Chechen battalion of Ahmat”.
“This is what Nazis are doing to Ukrainians,” she said. “Give Ukraine the weapons we need to stop this nightmare once and for all. The world can’t pretend like this isn’t happening!”
The same prisoner is later seen in a separate video, seen and reported by Sky News, being tied up and shot in the head at the same location.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the International Criminal Cout to investigate the “brutal war crimes” and recognise Russia as a “terrorist” state.
“Ukraine strongly condemns the brutal war crimes committed by the servicemen of the Russian Federation against Ukrainian prisoners of war, particularly horrible cases of torture, physical abuse, inhuman treatment, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health and wilful killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war,” the department said in a statement.
Russia’s defence ministry, meanwhile, said Ukraine carried out strikes against a POW prison in Moscow-controlled territory with US-supplied long-range missiles, in an “egregious provocation” designed to stop soldiers from surrendering.
It said that among the dead were Ukrainian forces that had laid down their arms after repelling Moscow’s assault on the sprawling Azovstal steel works in Mariupol.
Following the strike on the prison, Russian state television showed what appeared to be destroyed barracks and tangled metal beds but no casualties could be seen.
Ukraine’s military denied carrying out the attack saying its forces “did not launch missile and artillery strikes in the area of Olenivka settlement.” It instead blamed Russia’s invading forces for “a targeted artillery shelling” on the detention facility, saying it was being used to “accuse Ukraine of committing ‘war crimes’, as well as to hide the torture of prisoners and executions”.
“Russia has committed another petrifying war crime by shelling a correctional facility in occupied” Olenivka where it held Ukrainian POWs, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
Ukraine’s forces in May ended a weeks-long siege of Azovstal, with around 2,500 combatants surrendering after calling a halt to their first resistance.
Moscow’s state media has reported that some officers -- including those from the controversial Azov regiment -- have been taken into Russia.
Kyiv says it has captured thousands of Russian troops during the invasion and has begun putting some on trial for alleged war crimes.
MAN SAVED FROM HOTEL
Rescuers have miraculously pulled a Ukrainian man from a collapse of a hotel destroyed by Russian shelling, as more deadly strikes are carried out in Kyiv.
In a video released by the State Emergency Services of Ukraine, emergency workers can be seen pulling the man from the rubble of a hotel in the Donetsk region town of Bakhmut on Wednesday.
The incredible rescue, which saw several others killed at the hotel, comes as Russia carried out more deadly strikes across Ukraine.
Five people were killed and 26 injured when missiles struck the central city of Kropyvnytskyi while three people died in Bakhmut, in the east, according to officials.
Ukraine‘s northern and southern regions also suffered an attack, while 15 people were hurt at a military base near Kyiv.
The latest attack comes as Ukraine seeks to isolate Russian troops in the country‘s south.
A key bridge into the city of Kherson is out of action after Ukrainian forces struck it with long-range rockets supplied by the US.
This has made it impossible for Russia to send deployments and weaponry over the Antonivsky Bridge.
According to UK defence officials, the only Ukrainian regional capital seized since the start of the Russian invasion in February is now “virtually cut off from other occupied territories”.
However, the Ukrainian military has warned that Moscow is now redeploying its forces from eastern Ukraine to defend the Kherson region.
‘PUTIN!’: UKRAINIAN SPORTS STARS TAUNTED ON FIELD
Ukrainian sports players have been taunted by a crowd chanting “Vladimir Putin” at a Champions League qualifying round football match in Istanbul, Turkey.
Footage on social media showed a section of Fenerbahce’s packed stadium singing the Russian president’s name in response to Dynamo Kyiv’s first goal against the Istanbul side on Wednesday.
The Ukrainians won the match 2-1 after drawing 0-0 in the home leg played in Poland because of Russia’s invasion.
They now progress to the third round of qualifying while Fenerbahce are knocked out.
The chant appeared to be an attempt by Fenerbahce’s supporters to goad Dynamo’s fans at the park after the opening goal.
On Thursday Ukraine’s envoy to Turkey expressed “sadness” over the incident.
“It is very sad to hear the words of support from Fenerbahce’s fans for a Russian murderer and aggressor who bombed our country,” Ukraine’s ambassador Vasyl Bodnar tweeted.
Fenerbahce said their fans’ behaviour “does not represent the stance and values of our club”.
“We condemn both our country and our club being implicated on this issue,” Fenerbahce said in a statement.
Putin has questioned the Ukrainian nation’s right to exist and branded its leaders as “Nazis” who must be deposed.
The five-month war has claimed thousands of lives and featured relentless missile and rocket attacks against Ukrainian cities that have killed civilians daily.
Turkey has tried to stay neutral in the conflict despite its membership of the US-led NATO defence alliance.
Dynamo’s irate Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu refused to attend the mandatory post-match press conference in protest.
“I did not expect such a chant,” he said in a statement released to Turkish media. “It is a pity.”
RUSSIA SLASHES GAS SUPPLIES TO EUROPE
Russian energy giant Gazprom drastically cut gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline on Wednesday to about 20 per cent of its capacity, German authorities said.
The Russian state-run company had announced Monday that it would choke supply to 33 million cubic metres a day – half the amount it has been delivering since service resumed last week after 10 days of maintenance work.
EU states have accused Russia of squeezing supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Gazprom cited the halted operation of one of the last two operating turbines for the pipeline due to the “technical condition of the engine”.
The German economy ministry dismissed the explanation, saying there was “no technical reason for a reduction of deliveries”. Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann spoke on Wednesday of a “power play” by Moscow.
Klaus Mueller, head of Germany’s energy regulator, said gas flows had dropped to 20 per cent of the pipeline’s capacity on Wednesday from 40 per cent.
“We’ll see today if it stays that way,” he said in a statement. In parallel, Italian energy major Eni said Gazprom had informed the group it would only deliver “approximately 27 million cubic metres” on Wednesday, down from around 34 million cubic metres in recent days.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed EU sanctions for the limited supply. “Technical pumping capacities are down, more restricted. Why? Because the process of maintaining technical devices is made extremely difficult by the sanctions adopted by Europe,” Peskov said.
“Gazprom was and remains a reliable guarantor of its obligations … but it can’t guarantee the pumping of gas if the imported devices cannot be maintained because of European sanctions.” Mueller praised consumers and industry for voluntarily reducing energy use, saying that even correcting for warmer summer temperatures, recent consumption had been cut between five and seven per cent.
He said this would allow Germany to add to its gas reserves, which currently stand at about 65 per cent of capacity. Economy Minister Robert Habeck outlined targets last week for stocks to reach 95 per cent by November 1 ahead of the cold German winter.
“In the autumn the situation will change and gas use will rise,” Mueller said, noting the country’s strong reliance on gas for its heating. “Germany has got to use less gas,” he said, calling energy part of Russian “foreign policy and war strategy”.
EU MAKES BOLD MOVE: ‘PUTIN WILL NOT SPLIT US’
On Tuesday, European Union (EU) members with the exception of Hungary agreed to cut gas use in case Russia halts supplies.
Following talks, EU energy ministers voted for their countries to voluntarily reduce gas use by 15 per cent from August to March in a bid to reduce their dependence on Russian supplies.
“This was not a Mission Impossible!”, tweeted the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
However, draft plans suggest the deal had been watered down, with countries able to seek exemptions, the BBC reports.
“The purpose of the gas demand reduction is to make savings ahead of winter in order to prepare for possible disruptions of gas supplies from Russia that is continuously using energy supplies as a weapon,” the EU said.
The decision comes a day after Russian energy giant Gazprom announced plans to further limit flows to Europe.
Gazprom says it will cut daily gas deliveries through the Nord Stream pipeline to 33 million cubic metres a day, about 20 per cent of its capacity, continuing the progressive constriction of supplies begun after the West imposed sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move, for which Gazprom has cited technical problems, has been slammed by the EU and Ukraine as an attempt by Moscow to blackmail Europe.
To show solidarity with Germany, the main beneficiary of the gas, EU members voted to voluntarily reduce their gas use by 15 per cent starting next month, with some exceptions for islands and countries with limited access to shared supplies.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the agreement would show Russian President Vladimir Putin that Europe remained united in the face of Moscow’s latest gas cuts. “You will not split us,” Habeck said.
NEW STRIKES ON SOUTH UKRAINE
Russian forces launch new missile strikes at targets near Odessa, days after an attack on the strategic port city that jeopardised a hard-won deal on unblocking Ukrainian grain shipments.
Ukraine’s southern military command says Russian forces launched a “massive” strike from the Black Sea that hit residential buildings near Odessa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publishes a video showing heavy damage to a popular resort village. A local official says one person was injured.
Officials in the port of Mykolaiv, another grain-exporting hub, also report attacks on infrastructure in that city.
The strikes come as Ukraine steps up preparations to resume shipping grain around the world under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey with Russia, which has blockaded Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
RUSSIA TO QUIT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
Russia has decided to quit the International Space Station “after 2024” to focus on its own outpost, the newly appointed chief of Moscow’s space agency tells President Vladimir Putin.
“Of course, we will fulfil all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made,” Roscosmos chief Yury Borisov tells Putin in comments released by the Kremlin.
“I think that by this time we will start putting together a Russian orbital station,” Borisov adds, calling it the space program’s main “priority”.
Russia and the US have worked side-by-side on the ISS, which has been in orbit since 1998.
– additional reporting by AFP
More Coverage
Originally published as Vladimir Putin filmed appearing to be unable to use right arm when attacked by mosquitos
Factory workers ‘drowned as CEO snuck out’
The family of a factory worker who was killed during Hurricane Helene claim bosses sneaked out to escape the floodwaters while ordering employees to stay.
Read more
‘Take it down’: Chaos erupts at Liam shrine
Mourners have lashed out over a disrespectful act outside the hotel where One Direction star Liam Payne tragically lost his life at just 31.
Read more