Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the command post for Russian forces in the southern Kherson region of Ukraine - he arrived by helicopter to meet military leaders

Vladimir Putin appeared to limp as he was filmed arriving for his second visit inside an occupied area of Ukraine.

Amid speculation about the Russian dictator's health, Putin was seen exiting a helicopter on a supposedly spontaneous visit to visit his top commanders.

He was also filmed getting out of an SUV before being greeted by his top brass - and as he walked, he appeared to limp.

It comes over speculation Putin has cancer and there are plans to "throw" the war in Ukraine while he's undergoing treatment, according to a leaked US intelligence report last week.

And the dictator recently also reported “partial loss of sensation in his right arm and leg” requiring urgent medical attention, according to General SVR Telegram channel, a Russian outlet which frequently makes claims about his ailing health

The Kremlin said Putin was at the "Dnipro headquarters" in the Kherson direction inside occupied Ukraine before going to the Luhansk People's Republic to the headquarters of the Vostok National Guard - a region annexed by his forces in 2014.

It was Putin's first visit to both the Kherson region and the LPD.

Vladimir Putin visits occupied areas of the Kherson and Luhansk regions with the nuclear briefcase (marked) ( Image: Social media/e2w)

Russia annexed the Kherson and Luhansk regions along with the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in September in a move that was rejected by much of the world as illegal.

It appears that the visit took place several days ago, before Orthodox Easter last weekend, but it was only announced today. It is unclear why carefully edited footage was delayed in its release, evidently by a few days.

A clip shows a road sign to Henichesk, a port city along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine.

Putin told his commanders: "It is important for me to hear your opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to you, to exchange information."

He presented senior military figures with an Easter gift of a religious icon originally belonging to a tsarist-era defence minister - and they appeared happy to receive it.

It appears that the video was filmed before Orthodox Easter as Putin said: "It will be Easter coming now and so..."

During his visit, the dictator reportedly heard reports from Commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, Commander of the Dnepr Forces Group, Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, and Colonel-General Alexander Lapin, Chief of Ground Forces and other military leaders.

Journalist Dmitry Kolezev said: "Surprisingly, during the trip, Putin was first in a shirt and tie, and then in a black turtleneck.

"Either he likes to change clothes so much, or they filmed on different days."