Trump says he’ll call Putin about suspected plague outbreak in Russia

U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a potential plague outbreak in Russia. When questioned about the matter, Trump stated that the call would occur soon, although he had not yet discussed the situation with Putin. He promised to share U.S. intelligence agencies' findings on the issue "tomorrow," according to AFP.

The news of a potential plague outbreak in Russia gained traction after an employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute succumbed to illness at a hospital in Shelekhov. Speculations suggested that the individual may have suffered from pneumonic plague. Reports indicated that several hospitals in Irkutsk were placed under quarantine. However, there was no confirmation or denial of these claims. The Russian state health agency, Rospotrebnadzor, officially labeled the woman's death as "pneumonia of undetermined etiology."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov cautioned Russians to rely solely on information provided by Rospotrebnadzor regarding the potential plague outbreak. This report, produced by Meduza journalists, was written in collaboration with an AI tool while strictly adhering to the newsroom's editorial standards. Every draft underwent review by a Meduza editor before being published. Should any errors be detected in the translated content, readers are encouraged to contact reports@meduza.io.