The poor health thing "Putin is sick" was a FSB psy-op. Maybe he's sick in the head but otherwise in good health.

icantevenhold 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

He does look a lot better than his American counterpart

	▲	alt227 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Putin is a lot more careful about the image he projects and his public appearances than trump.

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simonh 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Why would Putin want people to think that Putin is sick or infirm, and his ability to lead might be compromised? His entire schtick is that he's a strongman leader and the only reliable option in Russia.

	▲	petre 6 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		It's basically targeted maketing. They pretty much wanted the West lethargic and unreactive at some point early in the war. Like "don't bother sending aid to Ukraine because Putin is kicking the bucket soon" kind of a narrative. In Russia yes, they project the strongman narrative.