Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dodged CNN questions about the health of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who has not been seen in public in nearly a week, if not more.

“The Defense Minister has a lot on his plate at the moment. The special military operation is going on. Naturally, now is not exactly the time for media activity, this is quite understandable”, - Peskov said when CNN asked about Shoigu’s absence.

When asked by CNN if he could disprove a report by the independent investigative Russian outlet Agentnstvo citing anonymous sources in the ministry as saying Shoigu has health problems, Peskov declined to do so.

“I can’t. You shouldn’t listen to the Agenstvo media outlet. Please address [these questions to] the Ministry of Defense”,

Shoigu appeared in a Channel One broadcast on March 18, which the Russian outlet said was from that day, but Russian journalists have speculated that the event being broadcast was from March 11.