A stuttering address from Vladimir Putin indicates the Russian leader is "not with it", according to journalist Allison Quinn of The Daily Beast, who has suggested he is looking "more and more senile, and old".
Putin, who celebrates his 74th birthday next week, has faced speculation that he has been substituted by a body double given the confusion evident in recent public appearances. The Kremlin has dismissed this assertion, but Quinn believes the reality might simply be that he is growing "senile".
Expert analysis of Putin's address
Quinn, who spent nearly a decade reporting from Moscow and Kyiv and is fluent in Russian, examined a faltering address delivered to gathered Russian journalists. Speaking during The Daily Beast's YouTube livestream, she remarked: "Putin is on the latest arc of his ranting about the Soviet Union, he's so mad about the Soviet Union, but he's also looking more and more senile, and old."
She added: "If it used to kind of scary, now he's stuttering, he doesn't look his best, you can see that he's nervous. Because he knows, if he loses the war, he's totally screwed. That's it. We know that famous quote he says, 'they'll hang me.' I think he does believe that he will be killed."
Putin's remarks on Ukraine and Wildberries
During the address, Putin expressed grievances about Ukraine targeting the Wildberries facility, a major online retailer in the nation comparable to Amazon. Quinn observed that Putin "keeps looking at the floor, loses his train of thought, and doesn't really make sense".
She said: "He was accusing Ukraine of killing civilians in one of the strikes. But the striking thing was, he didn't really seem to know what he was talking about. He said, 'Ukraine keeps striking Wildberries,' that big online retailer, Russia's Amazon. He said, 'why would they do that, who would ever do that?' It sounded like someone's grandpa, he didn't seem with it."
Quinn further noted: "He stuttered a lot, we only saw a little bit of the clip, but I've noticed a lot of them. He looked nervous, he's starring down at the ground, moving around like he's anxious, and we didn't used to see that much."
Putin compared to Trump
Having served as either President or Prime Minister of Russia since 1999, Putin shows little indication of relinquishing his grip on power after nearly 30 years at the helm. Quinn then compared Putin to US President Donald Trump, who at 80 has faced accusations of mental decline. In her estimation, Putin is "more savvy" than his American counterpart, while being "not quite as needy" and considerably less attention-seeking than Trump.
