VLADIMIR PUTIN’s health has been called into question after the Kremlin edited out the worst parts of a video showing the Russian President coughing, according to unearthed accounts.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns about President Vladimir Putin’s mental health. Former US National Intelligence Director Jim Clapper described Putin as “unhinged” after the President was isolated for months due to alleged Covid paranoia. In the meantime, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated that Putin is “always calculating and cold, but this is different.” He appears to be erratic.”

Speculation about Putin’s mental health began in February, when the Russian president ordered visiting French President Emmanuel Macron to sit at the far end of a four-metre-long table.

The images sparked speculation that Putin was terrified of catching Covid due to an unspecified health issue.

The former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, stated that the “best explanation” for Putin’s strange behaviour was that “he may have Parkinson’s,” a claim that the Kremlin has previously denied.

Putin’s health has been a source of concern for the Russian President for more than a decade.

Suggestions that Putin was ill resurfaced in 2020 after the President had a coughing fit during a televised meeting.

While speaking with top officials about Russia’s “acute financial problems” caused by coronavirus, the leader was seen struggling to finish a sentence.

Putin excused himself and covered his mouth with his hand as his cough worsened.

“Putin’s vocal cords gave in as he was setting up his government to fight COVID-19,” said Radio Mayak, which broadcast the original video.

According to the state news agency TASS, Putin “apologised and continued the meeting almost without pausing.”

The original video, however, was edited to make Putin’s cough appear less severe before being uploaded to the Kremlin website.

When TASS inquired about Putin’s health, the Kremlin responded that he was “absolutely normal.”

Earlier that year, one of the President’s most vocal detractors claimed that Putin had cancer and had undergone surgery.

According to Valery Solovei, who cited sources at the “epicentre of decision making,” Putin had an operation in February 2020 and was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Mr Solovei told the Mail Online, “One is a psycho-neurological problem, the other is a cancer problem.”

“If anyone is curious about the precise diagnosis, I’m not a doctor, and I have no ethical right to reveal these issues.”

“The second name diagnosis is far more dangerous than the first name diagnosis because Parkinson’s does not endanger physical health but only limits public appearances.”

“On the basis of this information, people will draw conclusions about his life horizon that do not even necessitate specialist medical education.”

The Kremlin responded to Mr Solovei’s claims by categorically denying that Putin’s health was in any way compromised.

In 2014, speculation about Putin’s health arose after the leader ordered the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

An article at the time claimed that Putin had terminal cancer, citing a number of “sources” close to the President, including an unnamed German doctor.

According to Richard Johnson, a New York Post journalist, “Put was allegedly being treated by a doctor from the old East Germany.”