President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has dismissed rumors circulating on the Internet that the Russian leader is in poor health.

Dmitry Peskov told Ekho Moskvy radio station Thursday that the president was "absolutely" healthy, adding that the president's handshake was still so strong it could "break your hand."

A Kremlin announcement Wednesday that Putin would postpone an upcoming trip to Kazakhstan set off a flurry of rumors online, with some suggesting that Putin had could be seriously ill and others positing that he could be planning for the ouster of a major government figure.

Putin has not been seen in public since he gave a televised address to members of the Interior Ministry on March 5.