Mystery as Vladimir Putin disappears for over a week – and ‘doesn’t have much time left’

Vladimir Putin often disappears from the public eye for unexplained reasons, but speculation is rife after Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin ‘doesn’t have too much time’ left

There is speculation over the whereabouts of President Vladimir Putin, as his Ukrainian counterpart jibed that the Russian despot “doesn’t have too much time” left.

Russian state media has broadcast footage of the 73-year-old president in recent days, but there is speculation that the videos are pre-recorded. This has not been confirmed, but Putin has not otherwise been seen in public for over a week, reports suggest.

And at the Munich Security Conference, defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested Putin “doesn’t have too much time”.

“Not too much time. He has, God bless, not too much time,” Zelensky, 48, joked, earning a laugh from the audience at the Politico-hosted event in the German city as he said he was “younger” than Putin.

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Putin rarely takes holidays, but it is not uncommon for him to disappear from public view for short periods of time. The lack of explanation from Russian officials often causes speculation to turn to conspiracy, with wild ideas of the Russian president’s alleged demise frequently surfacing.

Jacob Jugashvili, the grandson of murderous Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, has suggested that Putin is “very likely” to be dead already.

There is no evidence for this, and the Kremlin has also quashed various theories over Putin’s health, including allegations he has cancer.

It comes as today, the UK blamed the Kremlin for killing opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which it said was likely done using a poison developed from a dart frog toxin.

Two years on from the death of Mr Navalny at a Siberian penal colony, the UK and its allies have pinned the blame on the Russian state following analysis of material samples found on his body.

The Russian authorities have previously strenuously denied any involvement in his death.

There is no innocent explanation for the toxin Epibatidine being found on Mr Navalny’s body, the Foreign Office said.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has met with Mr Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.

Mrs Navalnaya announced her husband’s death at the gathering in 2024.

Ms Cooper said: “Since Yulia Navalnaya announced the loss of her husband here in Munich two years ago, the UK has pursued the truth of Alexei Navalny’s death with fierce determination

“Only the Russian Government had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia. Today, beside his widow, the UK is shining a light on the Kremlin’s barbaric plot to silence his voice.

“Russia saw Navalny as a threat. By using this form of poison the Russian state demonstrated the despicable tools it has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition.”

A joint statement by the British Government and its allies in Sweden, France, Germany and The Netherlands said the nations “are confident that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a lethal toxin”.

It added: “This is the conclusion of our Governments based on analyses of samples from Alexei Navalny. These analyses have conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine.

“Epibatidine is a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America. It is not found naturally in Russia.

“Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes. But given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death.

“Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him.”

The allies also pointed to an attempt to poison Mr Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020, which followed the Salisbury poisonings in 2018.

“Russia’s repeated disregard for international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention is clear,” the five nations said.

They added: “In both cases, only the Russian state had the combined means, motive and disregard for international law to carry out the attacks.”

The Foreign Office also insisted that Russia had not destroyed all of its chemical weapons, as Moscow claimed it had done in 2017.

Britain will continue to expose the Kremlin’s use of chemical and biological weapons, the Foreign Office added.