Russian President Vladimir Putin fell down seven steps of stairs and bruised his coccyx before soiling himself, according to Telegram Channel General SVR. The group, which claims to have contacts close to Putin’s bodyguards, said the Russian leader “stumbled and fell to his back, after which he fell on his side and slid down a couple of steps”.

They added: “The incident took place in front of the president’s bodyguards, who reacted quickly and rushed to Putin’s aid.

“Three security officers helped the president to get to the nearest sofa and called the doctors who are on duty at the residence.”

According to the Channel, medics “arrived within a few minutes, but could not immediately examine the president”.

The Telegram Channel has long claimed the President is suffering “oncology of the gastrointestinal tract, as a result of which he already experiences serious problems with digestion” and that the fall caused an “involuntary defecation”.

They wrote: “Before the examination, the doctors escorted the president to the bathroom and helped to clean up.”

They added: “After a complete examination, a bruise of the coccyx and soft tissues was diagnosed.

“Nothing critical was diagnosed and the bruising was treated with painkillers.

“An investigation is to be carried out into what provoked the ‘fall’.

“He wears special shoes, even at home, with anti-slip coating, and the stairs in the residence are considered ‘safe’.

“As it turns out, all precautions are meaningless when nerves are at stake.”

The Telegram channel has long claimed Putin is battling with cancer and has said that sources inside the Kremlin say the Russian leader has lost 18lbs.

In October, they claimed Putin’s inner circle is worried that his “persistent cough” will be seen as a “sign of the leader’s rapidly deteriorating health”.

The Russian president appeared to cough in a clip from a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

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General SVR reported: “Both Putin himself and his relatives, as well as doctors, are worried about the president’s coughing fits, as well as constant nausea and lack of appetite due to medication and a specific diet [for] oncology.

“In the past few months, Putin has lost eight kilograms, and those around the president are worried that the thinness and persistent cough that is noticeable in progress will be regarded by the elites as a sign of the leader’s rapidly deteriorating health.”

They also claimed that the Russian leader had “an attack of severe coughing” during a video conference with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

According to political analyst Valery Solovey, Putin is suffering from a number of critical illnesses, including cancer and a schizoaffective disorder.

Ms Solovey claims Putin’s health “is deteriorating… dramatically”.

Despite the reports from the Telegram Channel, the Russian President was filmed visiting a laboratory in Moscow the following day showing no apparent injury.

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The Kremlin has repeatedly denied rumours on Putin’s health.

The rumours come as Russia continues to attack Ukraine amid calls from international leaders of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

But on Friday, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has warned the Russian President could use any peace talks over Ukraine as an opportunity to rebuild Russia’s battered forces for a fresh onslaught.

Mr Cleverly said Western powers needed to be “very, very careful” if the Russian leader sought to initiate negotiations purporting to seek an end to the conflict.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said there was a risk “a ceasefire is actually just used by Putin to train up more troops and to produce more ammunition and to refit his damaged armed forces and to rearm his armed forces”.

His warning came after US President Joe Biden said he would be prepared to talk to Mr Putin if he was genuinely looking to end the war – something that has not happened so far.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also said he would carry on speaking to the Russian leader to try to prevent any further escalation and to achieve “very concrete results” such as ensuring the safety of nuclear plants.

However, Mr Cleverly, who this week attended a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Bucharest, questioned whether Mr Putin would really engage “in good faith”.

“The point is that we’ve got to be very, very careful if ‘peace’ talks – and I use the word ‘peace’ in inverted commas there – (are) initiated by Vladimir Putin,” he said.

He said that if the Russians used any pause in the fighting simply as cover to rearm, there could be even further trouble down the line.

“Then all that will happen is we’ll see exactly these scenes again, but maybe, what, I don’t know, six, 12, 18 months’ time,” he said.

He added: “The resolution to this needs to be sustainable, it needs to be meaningful, it needs to be real.

“What we have got to watch out for is a pause being utilised by Russia as just a way of making sure that its next phase of aggression is more effective than this current phase.

“And look, Vladimir Putin has got form on this. Georgia, that was going to be a one-off, wasn’t it? Crimea, that was going to be a one-off, wasn’t it? Eastern Ukraine, that was going to be a one-off.

“And actually what we saw is they were all building up towards this most latest wave of aggression.”