Vladimir Putin has dementia? Speculation after this strange memory lapse

An exchange with a child during a discussion at Kremlin sparked speculation around Russian president Vladimir Putin’s health.

The Russian leader got confused about the age of the child of a deputy mayor as rumours around Vladimir Putin having dementia began. The Kremlin has insisted that the Russian president is in good health.

A clip tweeted by Uliana Yapparova, a blogger, showed Vladimir Putin speaking with Ivan Shtokman. The latter was seen in a military uniform while talking about the success in his business that propelled him into becoming deputy mayor of the city of Nizhny Novgorod as he felt he must do something for his country.

“The future of the country is now being decided,” he Vladimir told Putin, explaining his decision to join the army amid Ukraine war. While the Russian leader seemed impressed, he said, “In the end, you came to the most important thing in this search … dedication to this country. In the end, this is a struggle for the future of our children and your children.”

Vladimir Putin then asked the age of his children. Ivan Shtokman replied, “the youngest is nine” and the elder, 23. To this, the Russian leader said, “your little one is three years old” praising Ivan Shtokman’s decision to go the frontline.

What social media users said about Vladimir Putin’s health?

One user wrote that Vladimir Putin’s “looking at the ceiling” while “slowly muttering about the search for a place in the country” was “abnormal.” “He can’t hear people at all,” another added while a third concluded that the incident was a display of “dementia”.

What has Vladimir Putin been up to?

This week the Russian president was seen conducting an online discussion where he gave a flippant response to news from the Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev about the death of soldiers in Ukraine. When Igor Kobzev talked about the troops from his region, Vladimir Putin responded quickly, “Pass on my regards to them.”