Vladimir Putin turns 70 amid Ukraine-war crisis

President Vladimir Putin turned 70 on Friday. In this photo, Putin attends a wreath laying ceremony to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in central Moscow. (Reuters)

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill said on October 7, 2022 that Putin's reign over Russia had been mandated by God, congratulating the Kremlin chief on his 70th birthday. (AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) military exercise in far eastern Russia, outside Vladivostok. Putin has signaled that he could resort to nuclear weapons to protect the Russian gains in Ukraine (AP)

Russian President Putin watches the launch of a missile during naval exercises in Russia's Arctic North on board the nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky in August, 2005. (Reuters)

Putin, who rose to the Kremlin's top job on the last day of 1999, is facing the biggest challenge of his rule after the invasion of Ukraine triggered the gravest confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. His army there is reeling from a series of defeats in the past month. (Reuters)

Obsequious officials hailed Putin as the saviour of modern Russia while the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia implored the country to say two days of special prayers so that 'God grants Putin health and longevity.' (Reuters)

Russia's President Vladimir Putin lies on the snow during a walk with dogs in Moscow Region, March 24, 2013. (Reuters)

Putin practises with Musa Mogushkov of Russian national judo team during a training session in Sochi, Russia, January 8, 2016. (Reuters)

Putin rides a horse in southern Siberia's Tuva region, Russia August 3, 2009. Picture taken August 3, 2009. (Reuters)

Putin takes a dip in the water during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations at lake Seliger, Tver region, Russia January 19, 2018. (Reuters)

Putin is seen through the glass of C-Explorer 5 submersible after a dive to see the remains of the naval frigate "Oleg", which sank in the 19th century, in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea. (Reuters)

Putin during an invitational ice hockey match in Sochi, Russia May 10, 2014. (Reuters)