<figure id="attachment_238092" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 5310px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-238092"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="dde97de2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/00f6c8ead720661b198fe3f5aa63c432.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-238092" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Putin has been the subject of constant rumors of health concerns. His face appears swollen compared to previous years (Image: Reuters/Afro)</figcaption></figure>
 During the four years from 2004 to 2008, a thyroid specialist visited the president 35 times and spent 161 days with him.
 According to an April 3 report by the independent Russian media outlet Proekt, the number of doctors who visited Putin&#8217;s Grand Palace in Sochi, southern Russia, initially totaled 35. There were about five of them. However, since 2007, the number has increased to an average of nine, with the addition of otolaryngologists and other doctors. When he stopped appearing in public in September of last year, it was reported that he may have undergone surgery for thyroid cancer.
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 Professor Itsuro Nakamura of Tsukuba Gakuin University, who is an expert on the situation in Russia, said, &#8220;The number of people who have been killed in Russia has been increasing.
 I think the reports are quite credible. Proekto is a media outlet with a reputation for calm, factual, investigative reporting that is neither pro-regime nor exclusively critical. It also reveals in detail the names and titles of the doctors. There is no doubt that there is something wrong with Putin&#8217;s thyroid gland.
 According to Nakamura, Putin&#8217;s decline has been noticeable of late. The first time he sensed something was wrong was at an event held in November 2012 to commemorate the anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Nakamura continues.
 Mr. Putin appeared on stage with a limp. The cause was said to be that he fell off his horse while riding. Mr. Putin was confident in his physical fitness, not only in horseback riding, but also in judo, swimming, and other physical activities. Failing at horseback riding, which is his forte, must have been quite a shock for Mr. Putin. He must have felt his own decline.&#8221;
<h2>Impatience and invasion</h2>
 From that time on, Mr. Putin gradually became more radical. In 2001, the year after he fell from power, he began full-fledged activities of his military company, Wagner, and in 2002 he annexed the Crimean Peninsula. Nakamura believes that &#8220;Mr. Putin&#8217;s increasingly serious health concerns may have played a role in the background.
 It is said that Mr. Putin has been suffering from an illness for the past six years that prevents him from controlling his behavior. As his illness worsens, he will lose his sense of physical and mental balance. He may become unable to make normal decisions.
 Mr. Putin will turn 70 this year. In Russia, where the average life expectancy for men is said to be about 65 years, this is a very old age. Recently, he has been sitting around a lot, and it is not often reported that he is walking. His physical and mental decline has become apparent, and we believe that Mr. Putin is growing impatient. His sudden invasion of Ukraine is probably not unrelated to his impatience.
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 In a paper published last July, Mr. Putin wrote
 Ukraine, as a nation, has no tradition of stability. Ukraine&#8217;s true sovereignty can only be achieved through an alliance with Russia.
 In other words, they believe that Ukraine has no sovereignty and should be annexed by Russia. The Western countries, mainly the West, are the ones who are looking at us. They must be seen as unforgivable &#8220;evil nations&#8221; that have been threatening Russia by progressively carving up Ukraine and other lands and interests from the former Soviet era. Nakamura continues.
 Mr. Putin has nothing but hatred for the West. His ultimate goal is to defeat the West and restore the great Russia. I believe that Mr. Putin, realizing that he has only a few days left to live, has taken the gamble of his life, starting with the invasion of Ukraine. He wanted to avenge years of hatred and take revenge on the West while he still could.&#8221;
 A dictatorial leader who, due to repeated illnesses, knows that his time is short. He may be taking any action he can to realize his ambitions.

 Reuters/Afro

 Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported seriously ill. Last September, he underwent surgery for thyroid cancer. Theories of Mr. Putin's health concerns are only deepening. What is the ambition that the impatient Mr. Putin is trying to achieve with his life?

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