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A Russian newspaper that echoes viewpoints held by the Russian government is taking aim at President Biden, claiming he suffers from dementia as pressure mounts in Ukraine.
Komsomolskaya Pravda, a pro-Kremlin newspaper headquartered in Moscow, recently published an article questioning whether Biden is “in his right mind” and listed five examples of “dementia that can be found in the President of the United States.”
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Citing the World Health Organization’s definition of dementia, Lyudmila Plotnikova, the author of the article, said Biden is “very elderly” and “too often in the last years of his life he either forgot names and dates, or lost his orientation in space.”
President Biden listens to questions from reporters while speaking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the White House on Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“Americans feel sorry for their president, but at the same time they are wondering if such a person is able to perform the functions of not only the owner of the Oval Office of the White House, but also the supreme commander of one of the most powerful armies in the world,” Plotnikova wrote for the paper, which was founded nearly 100 years ago in Russia.
Pointing to columns written by American physicians, as well as previous health battles Biden has faced, including those related to brain aneurysms, the paper suggested Biden has repeatedly “embarrassed himself” on the world stage as a result of some kind of cognitive impairment.
The author listed five categories to support the paper’s claim that Biden suffers from dementia and provided specific examples for each. The categories included: forgetfulness, disorientation, aimless wandering, behavioral changes including aggression, and difficulties in movement.
President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on Sept. 9, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The paper highlighted a recent appearance Biden made in North Carolina where he “finished his speech, turned to the side and began to speak into empty space, and then began to imitate a handshake with someone invisible.”
“Biden began to feverishly look around the stage on which he stood,” the author said of the incident. “His expression was confused. This miserable spectacle ended with the fact that the president began to wander aimlessly around the crowded hall.”
The paper also cited examples of when Biden “yelled at reporters” and insisted that “experts are sure that the state of health of the leader of the American nation inspires serious concern.”
Rebekah Koffler, a former U.S. DIA intelligence officer focused on Russia and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News Digital that the paper’s efforts are “almost certainly part of Russia’s psychological operation designed to discredit President Biden and his administration’s decision-making with regard to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a cabinet meeting via videoconference outside Moscow on March 23, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“This accusation is also likely in part a payback for U.S. media’s allegations of Russian President Putin’s COVID-related mental instability,” Koffler said. “The Kremlin seeks to portray U.S. military assistance to Ukraine as lacking legitimacy because the decision to do so is made by a person who is allegedly cognitively impaired.”
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Koffler said Putin is “building the justification narrative for domestic and foreign audiences for whatever escalatory action he would take in the ongoing conflict.”
The newspaper faced scrutiny last month after it deleted an online report that claimed almost 10,000 Russian troops had been killed since Putin began invading Ukraine. According to a statement released by the paper, the article appeared online for a short time after it was published by hackers.