Does Vladimir Putin have cancer?

, more than 40,000 people are diagnosed with it each year in the UK, and over 250,000 people are living with blood cancer currently.

Different types of blood cancer include:

• leukaemia
• myeloma
• lymphoma
• myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN)
• myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)

Each one has different symptoms, treatments and prognoses.

They're caused by changes in the DNA within your blood cells, which causes them to behave abnormally.

Though it's not normally known why someone has developed it, there are factors that can affect your risk such as:

• age
• sex
• family history
• ethnicity
• some health conditions and treatments
• radiation or chemical exposure

Blood cancer is unlike some other cancers in that lifestyle factors like exercise and diet have little effect on your risk of developing it, though a healthy lifestyle will significantly lower your risk of other cancers and diseases.

What other illnesses does Vladimir Putin have?

It is also alleged Putin is suffering from symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.

Solovei said Putin was suffering two separate health problems: “One is of psycho-neurological nature, the other is a cancer problem.

“If anyone is interested in the exact diagnosis, I'm not a doctor, and I have no ethical right to reveal these problems.

”The second diagnosis is a lot, lot more dangerous than the first named diagnosis, as Parkinson’s does not threaten physical state, but just limits public appearances.

“But there is a fatal diagnosis.

“Based on this information people will be able to make a conclusion about his life horizon, which wouldn’t even require specialist medical education.”

Observers who studied footage at the time noted Putin's legs appeared to be in constant motion and he looked to be in pain while clutching the armrest of a chair.

His fingers are also seen to be twitching as he held a pen and gripped a cup rumoured to contain a cocktail of painkillers.

The Kremlin issued a firm denial after The Sun broke news of Solovei’s claims that Putin had Parkinson's.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the rumours and said he's in "excellent health”.

Did Vladimir Putin have Covid?

It is not thought Putin had Covid, though he did self-isolate in September 2021 after several members of his entourage fell ill with the virus.

This included someone he worked in close proximity with, and had been in close contact with all of the previous day.

Putin, who said in June 2021 that he had previously received two doses of the Russian Sputnik V, explained the situation to a government meeting by video conference after the Kremlin said he was "absolutely" healthy and did not have the disease himself.

Putin said: "It's a natural experiment. Let's see how Sputnik V works in practice.

"I have quite high levels of antibodies. Let's see how that plays out in real life. I hope everything will be as it should be."

The Kremlin said Putin took the decision to self-isolate after completing a busy round of meetings, which included meeting Paralympians.

He was quoted by the RIA news agency as telling the athletes that he was worried about the Covid-19 situation in the Kremlin.

Putin was quoted as saying at the time: “Problems with this Covid are even surfacing in my entourage.

"I think I'll be forced to quarantine myself soon. Many people around me are sick."

Asked if Putin had tested negative for Covid-19, Peskov said: "Of course yes. The president is absolutely healthy."