Another round of reports is fueling speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is very ill.
The Daily Mail reported a “Ukrainian Intelligence Chief” as saying the vilified leader is “suffering from ‘several serious illnesses, including cancer,’ but the Russian president will likely live ‘at least a few more years.'”
The outlet also noted that Kyrylo Budanov, a “Kyiv military spy chief,” reported that Russian officials recently thwarted an assassination attempt on President Putin.
The Daily Mail profiled Budanov’s interview:
“In an much-heralded interview with Ukrayinska Pravda, Budanov, 36, confirmed that the Ukrainians believe Putin is suffering from cancer, but did not add to an advance excerpt from the interview which revealed an apparent assassination bid on him.“
While speaking about the Russian President, Budanov reportedly said:
“He has several serious illnesses, one of which is cancer,” he said. “But it is not worth hoping that Putin will die tomorrow. He has at least a few more years. Like it or not, but it’s true.”
Warning about the mental state of the man with his finger on the trigger of the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, Budanov noted that Putin is “confused.” He added:
“Here we can argue a lot about the state of the dictator, who thought he would capture the whole country [Ukraine] in three days and raise the Russian flag on the administration building in Kyiv. And for the third month in a row, declaring that he has the second and sometimes the first army in the world, he cannot cope, in his words, ‘with backward non-state Ukraine.'”
Putin’s health has been called into question several times in recent years. Many believe that Putin, 69 has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. Others suggest his physical behavior at public events indicates he may have Parkinson’s or dementia.
The New York Post quoted former MI6 Chief Sir Richard Dearlove as saying “Putin could be sent to a sanatorium” by 2023 “as part of an exit strategy” in the face of failed military efforts in Ukraine.
“I think he’ll be gone by 2023,” Dearlove said. “Probably into the sanatorium, from which he will not emerge as leader of Russia.”
During his “One Decision” podcast, Dearlove suggested that institutionalizing Putin would be an “elegant” alternative to a coup. Dearlove predicted that if that happened, the likely successor would be secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev.
Dearlove, who served as head of the British Secret Intelligence Service between 1999 and 2004 added: “If my thesis were fulfilled and Putin did disappear into a sanatorium, I think he’s the likely stand-in. And of course the stand-in [in] this scenario probably becomes permanent. I mean, you know there is no succession in the Russian leadership. They certainly don’t succession-plan.”
Video showing Putin appearing unsteady and “bloated,” cancellations in his schedule, and a published “secret recording,” reportedly from someone in Putin’s inner circle claiming the president has blood cancer, have led many to believe Putin is gravely ill, though it is prudent to question the accuracy of reports coming from Ukraine or Russia.
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