In his interview to agency Reuters Belarusian president Aliaksandr Lukashenka leaked a word about his Russian counterpart’s spine problem: “He [Putin] loves judo. He lifted a guy, threw him, and twisted his spine,” Lukashenka said.
Lukashenka had been hoping to play ice hockey with Putin but the Kremlin leader postponed the match, he told journalists. “He tells me: ‘We are not prepared yet to take on your team.’ He has damaged his spine somewhere. In a judo match. He was on the mat and hurt his spine,” the Belarusian leader said.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment Lukashenka’s statement, Reuters reports.
Vladimir Putin was seen limping at an Asia-Pacific summit in the Russian port of Vladivostok in early September. Three government sources told Reuters in late October that Putin was suffering from back trouble. Several foreign trips which had been expected around that time but were never officially announced by the Kremlin have not taken place, including a trip to India. The Kremlin dismissed talk that the president had a serious back problem and that he might require surgery.
Putin has held regular meetings with officials but has not traveled throughout November. The Kremlin acknowledged that he had suffered a sports-related injury but gave no details.
Belsat
