The Russian president sported a visible limp during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum in Vladivostok in September, prompting a flurry of rumours, and several scheduled domestic and international engagements have since been postponed until December.

A long-running health issue was likely to have been exacerbated by a September stunt when Putin took to the Siberian skies in a motorised hang-glider to lead a flock of rare cranes on the first leg of their migration. But the Kremlin has scoffed at claims that Putin is suffering from any serious medical condition. However, Kremlin admitted that Putin had pulled a muscle. u00a0 u00a0u00a0