[imagesource: Kirill Kudryatsev / AFP]

Usually, I can’t be arsed with what ‘body language experts’ have to say about the latest celeb drama.

“Look at Meghan’s arm position – she’s trying to profit off her relationship with the Royal Family.”

“See how Harry took a breath there? That’s a clear showing of disrespect to the Queen.”

You know the drill.

I’ll make an exception for Judi James, who spoke with Sky News and broke down Russian President Vladimir Putin’s body language during Russia’s Victory Day commemorations on May 9.

It was quite the spectacle:

Men! Missiles! Tanks! The only thing missing was a shirtless Putin.

The Russian president’s address at the ceremony has been intensely scrutinised, especially in the wake of reports that he appears to be in ill health.

James says we can read quite a bit into his body language, starting with his health:

She said the left side of the president’s face was “puffy” and his walk “unsteady”, adding: “His facial expressions, he almost seems to be not able to control the right side of his face.”

…”Swinging his left arm, but keeping his right arm down by his side. That’s something that I’ve seen him doing for several years now. I remember about four years ago being asked has he had a stroke.”

Having sat rather motionless during large parts of the ceremony, and then appearing slightly unsteady on his walk to the podium, Putin’s demeanour changed considerably during his address:

“He suddenly looked up, he looked straight into the camera, and that’s when it worried me because when an alpha is beleaguered, when an alpha is showing weakness, it can often be its deadliest…

“And from this slightly pathetic body language to somebody that is fizzing with anger, there were a lot of anger signals.”

It’s always these so-called hardmen that are the biggest snowflakes of all.

Putin also adopted what has been referred to as a power stance, with his feet wide apart, but there’s an argument to be made that he was doing so to appear steady and prevent himself from falling over.

One thing we do know for certain is that he’s not going to like many of the visuals coming out of Ukraine. Yesterday, drone footage reportedly showing a Russian military unit being destroyed by Ukrainian artillery was shared by the 28th Mechanised Brigade, a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

Newsweek below:

The Russian armor and troops had been holed up on a line of trees surrounded by fields on all sides.

So when a Ukrainian drone came looking for targets, the Russians looked to be sitting ducks.

Alleged video footage of the strike shows a furious fusillade hammered down on the line of vehicles and men within seconds.

The 28th Mechanised Brigade said that Russia forgot two truths – “our eyes are everywhere, and our weapons will get them even from the ground”.

The footage was labelled ‘Treesily Found’. I guess even in times of war you shouldn’t miss the chance to slip a pun in.

[sources:sky&newsweek]