Putin caught in coughing fit in behind-the-scenes footage released by mistake

Someone is in trouble after an outtake of Vladimir Putin in the middle of a coughing fit was mistakenly released by the Kremlin.

The Russian President normally portrays a strong man image, fishing in bear-infested forests or riding horses topless, but he was caught meekly spluttering his way through a piece to camera for International Women’s Day.

Coughing and struggling over his words the 73-year-old points to his own throat and croaks at a cameraman: ‘You know, let me say that again, because… my throat’s a bit scratchy.

‘Yes, a bit scratchy. I almost started coughing. I’ve been talking a lot today.’

The video of the 73-year-old Russian leader was posted to the Kremlin’s Telegram channel, then mysteriously deleted.

Another video was then uploaded with the coughing fit edited out.

Putin went on to give a speech for International Women’s Day, a historic day in his country after it became a flashpoint in the 1917 Revolution.

‘A generous, compassionate and truly wise feminine soul makes the world a better and kinder place, and a mother’s love remains in every person’s heart for life,’ Putin said.

Kremlin spokesperson Alexander Yushanev moved to dismiss the release as a ‘weekend mistake’.

He said: ‘According to my information, no extraordinary investigation… is being conducted in the Presidential Administration regarding the unedited Putin’s greeting that was posted online.

‘It’s just a weekend mistake, which can happen to anyone. And it’s not the first time with the Kremlin itself, by the way. Everywhere, so far, real people are working, not AI.

‘Did someone seriously think that all video materials are written in one attempt?” he asked.

‘Or that a person can’t clear their throat after a nearly three-minute speech?’

The Russian leader has long been dogged with rumours about his health over reports of mysterious disappearances, trembling hands and more.

He has also made little secret of his fascination with prolonging life, and on Wednesday showed no reluctance to repeat his private musings on longevity at a press conference.

‘Modern means and methods of improving health, even various surgical [operations] involving organ replacement, allow humanity to hope that … life expectancy will increase significantly,’ Putin told reporters in Beijing.

Former intelligence professional Christopher Steele, who headed MI6’s Russia desk between 2006 and 2009, told LBC in 2024 that he thought Putin could be seriously ill.

He said: ‘What we do know is that he’s constantly accompanied around the place by a team of doctors.

‘Meetings of the security council that are shown (on TV) to supposedly last for a whole hour are actually broken up into several sections.

‘He goes out and receives some kind of medical treatment between those sections. So, clearly, he is seriously ill – how terminal or incurable it is is not clear, we can’t be entirely sure.

‘But it’s certainly having a very serious impact on the governance of Russia at the moment.’