Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has set the world abuzz with a blunt prediction: Vladimir Putin, Russia’s iron-fisted leader, “will die soon.” Dropping this bombshell during a sit-down with journalists in Paris on Wednesday, fresh off a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Zelenskyy didn’t blink. “He will die soon, and that’s a fact, and it will come to an end,” he said, per India Today, tying Putin’s fate to the war that’s ravaged Ukraine for over three years. With rumors swirling about Putin’s health, it’s a claim that’s got everyone from Lagos to Kyiv wondering: is the Kremlin’s chief really on his last legs?
Zelenskyy’s words landed like a thunderclap. Speaking in Paris, where he’s been rallying European support, he framed Putin’s demise as the key to ending Russia’s aggression. “It will come to an end,” he insisted, hinting that Ukraine’s fight and maybe Europe’s peace hinges on outlasting the 72-year-old. It’s no secret Putin’s been a shadow in Zelenskyy’s war-torn story, but this? This feels personal. After facing off with Russia since the 2022 invasion, Zelenskyy’s betting big publicly calling time on his nemesis while the world watches a frail-looking Putin dodge the spotlight.
The rumors about Putin’s health aren’t new, but they’re louder now. For years, the man’s appeared in public with a puffy face, blood-shot eyes, even a twitching leg little cracks in the tough-guy armor. Remember 2022? That viral clip of him slouched in a chair, gripping a table, slurring words at then-Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu it’s burned into the internet’s memory. Coughing fits, jerky hands, a limp here and there clips keep popping up, feeding the mill. X posts at 07:51 WAT today flagged it as “same old rumors,” but others, like one at 00:36 WAT, ran with Zelenskyy’s line: “Putin will die soon.” No hard proof, though Kremlin’s tight-lipped, and CIA’s William Burns said last year Putin’s “entirely too healthy,” per The National Interest.
Still, Zelenskyy’s not alone in stirring this pot. Ukraine’s intel chief Kyrylo Budanov claimed in 2022 Putin’s got “several serious illnesses,” maybe cancer, per Wikipedia. Back in January 2023, Zelenskyy himself mused at Davos if Putin was even alive, suggesting a body double might be in play. Wild? Sure. But with Putin’s rare outings like a St. Petersburg memorial this January, per Express UK showing a man who’s not quite the old bear, it’s hard not to wonder. Contrast that with Zelenskyy, 47, still pacing Kyiv’s war rooms, and the age gap alone tells a tale.
For Nigerians like my neighbor Ade, a news junkie, it’s a soap opera with stakes. “If Putin’s sick, maybe this war ends,” he said over morning tea. “But Zelenskyy’s talking tough hope he’s got a plan.” That’s the rub: Zelenskyy’s tying Ukraine’s survival to Putin’s exit, but what if the rumors are just that? Russia’s still hammering Ukraine 117 drone strikes this week, per India Today, hitting Zelenskyy’s hometown Kryvyi Rih hardest. Macron’s $2 billion aid pledge yesterday, per Sky News, shows Europe’s in, but Trump’s U.S. is wavering, per NPR. Putin dead or not, the fight’s now.
Critically, it’s a gamble. Zelenskyy’s got no medical chart to flash just battlefield bravado and a hunch. Putin’s health’s a Kremlin riddle speculation’s rife, evidence thin. If he’s wrong, Zelenskyy risks looking like he’s clutching straws while Ukraine bleeds. But if he’s right? A power vacuum in Moscow could flip this war or spark chaos worse than today. Either way, Paris heard him loud: Putin’s clock’s ticking, says Zelenskyy. True or not, it’s a hell of a headline and Nigeria’s watching.