The Kremlin has stated that Vladimir Putin was “playing hockey” over the weekend, dispelling rumors that the Russian president is suffering from a secret ailment.

Since his country invaded Ukraine, hardly a day has gone by without fresh rumors regarding the health and well-being of the Russian leader.

His spokesman Dmitry Peskov told on Monday: “I can say with certainty that he played hockey yesterday afternoon. Yesterday, he was playing hockey, and you should consider his health on your own.

Observers have speculated on the appearance of the Russian leader during meetings, including whether he is hobbling, trembling, or grasping the table in pain, or if he has a swollen face that could indicate steroid use or even botox due to his infamous vanity.

Mr. Peskov has termed the rumors regarding the president’s health absurd and has denied multiple times that he is terminally ill, as some sources have suggested.

Mr. Putin’s spokesman cited the president’s lengthy speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week to disprove widespread rumors about his health when he was pressed by NBC News senior international correspondent Keir Simmons to address the rumors definitively.

According to him, Mr. Putin spoke for three and a half hours before participating in a panel discussion.

“Imagine if an unhealthy man could do that well,” he remarked.

As the war enters its seventeenth week, Russia’s attacks have been mostly concentrated on eastern Ukraine, with the stated goal of “liberating” the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which together comprise the Donbas.

A portion of the territories are governed by separatists backed by Russia, and the Russian president wants them to be totally in pro-Russian hands.

If his soldiers seize Severodonetsk, Moscow will control all of Luhansk, and this will be his greatest triumph in the invasion to date.

The governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Hayday, reported that Russian forces controlled the majority of Severodonetsk, except the Azot chemical plant, where more than 500 civilians, including 38 children, have been sheltering for weeks. Hayday was providing an update from a pocket of resistance that has held back the broader Russian offensive in the Donbas.

He said that the road between Severodonetsk and Lysychansk and the city of Bakhmut was under regular shell fire.

Rodion Miroshnik, a representative of the self-styled separatist administration of the Luhansk People’s Republic, stated on Telegram, “The balance of forces in the region should undergo significant shifts in the coming hours.”

However, British intelligence indicates that Ukrainian forces have retaliated against Russia in the Black Sea.

The ability of President Putin’s fleet to dominate a section of the Black Sea has been “essentially neutralized” by Ukrainian coastal defenses, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

“Ukrainian forces asserted their first effective deployment of Western-donated Harpoon anti-ship missiles against Russian marine forces,” the nation’s most recent Twitter update stated.

“The Russian naval tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh, which was bringing munitions and people to Snake Island in the northwestern Black Sea, was probably certainly the target of the attack.

“The destruction of the Russian vessel on a resupply trip underscores the difficulty Russia confronts in attempting to support its occupying forces on Snake Island.

This is the most recent in a string of Russian vessels, including the cruiser Moskva, that Ukraine has damaged or destroyed throughout the conflict.

The United States and its European allies have supported Ukraine with arms and financial aid but have avoided active involvement in the conflict.