Vladimir Putin: Paramedics ‘rushed to tyrant’s bedside in late night scare’

The Russian tyrant reportedly suffered a major health scare that required urgent medical assistance.

Paramedics reportedly raced to Vladimir Putin’s bedside on the weekend after he suffered a “severe” health scare.

The Russian tyrant suffered “severe nausea” overnight on Friday into Saturday morning, according to the Telegram channel which claims to monitor Putin’s health.

The paramedics stayed with the leader for nearly three hours, according to the report.

There is speculation he may even be replaced by a body double while he gets better.

It comes after British MI6 director Richard Moore last week said “There is no evidence that Putin is suffering from serious illness”.

Historian professor Timothy Snyder warns Vladimir Putin’s power is “weakening”. Picture: Alexey Maishev/SPUTNIK/AFP

Meanwhile a top historian has warned Putin’s grip on power is “weakening” and other Russian leaders are preparing for a “struggle” when he eventually falls.

Timothy Snyder, a Professor of History at Yale University and author of the book On Tyranny, said Russia’s rising military losses in Ukraine are diminishing the tyrant’s authority.

It comes as the head of Britain’s armed forces, Admiral Tony Radakin, last week estimated 50,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in the invasion, with nearly 1700 Russian tanks and some 4000 armoured fighting vehicles destroyed.

“Putin’s rule is weakening,” Professor Snyder said in a series of posts on social media.

“We now regularly hear from people aside from Putin – for example, former prime minister and president Dmitry Medvedev – about the meaning of the war, the catastrophic consequences that await Ukraine and the West, and so forth. This is a sign Putin is losing control.

“Usually the news coverage of such pronouncements focuses on their content. It is tempting to get caught up in the Russian fear propaganda.

“But the real story is that people aside from Putin now feel authorised to make such proclamations. Before the war there was less of this.”

Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on February 25. Picture: AFP

The professor said Putin’s political strength relies heavily on the military and his personal image will be ruined if the illusion of “invisibility” is broken.

“Putin can survive the army not being strong. But at a certain point, not being strong becomes not looking strong,” he said.

“The Russian army is taking horrible losses in men, which suggests the next sign of Putin’s weakness. The Russian state can mobilise its population for war only at the level of emotions, not bodies.

“Russian regions are now working hard to find highly paid ‘volunteers’ who are sent to die with little training. Putin is clearly afraid a general mobilisation would undo his popularity and bring down his regime. In this sense he is weak.

“Putin has soft support for the war, so long as it is a television show, but cannot count on Russians to risk their actual bodies.

“The equilibrium that keeps Putin in power – mastery over rivals, support in the population, integrity of the army – is challenged by the realities of an unpredictable, costly war. Putin has been good at keeping us all in a fog. But now he himself seems lost in the fog of war.”

Russian and Belarus tanks during joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus. Picture: Russian Defence Ministry / AFP

The professor also warned: “If Russia loses the war, the people saying radical things now will have protected themselves. For my part, I tend to see the drastic proclamations as evidence that important Russians think Russia is losing,” he said.

Prof Snyder concluded the current state of affairs in Ukraine for Russia were a “trap” for Putin with no clear escape route.

“The trap presented to him by rivals, by the public, by the army looks like this: we will all agree with you that we are winning the war, and we will all blame you if/when we lose it,” he said.

“It is not clear how Putin can escape, except by declaring victory.

“Putin’s gamble, as ever, is that the West will feel the pain faster than he will. This is how his foreign policy works – generate losses for everyone, including Russia, in the hope that the other side will concede first.

“Putin has seemed like a good gambler in the past. A good gambler, though, knows when to fold.”

Originally published as Vladimir Putin: Paramedics ‘rushed to tyrant’s bedside in late night scare’