Russian President Vladimir Putinis allegedly 'gravely' ill and only has two years to live, according to the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Major General Kyrylo Budanov.
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Putin 'doesn't have a long life ahead of him'
The head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency made the claims in an interview with USA Today, adding to months of rumours about Putin's health. He claimed the Russian President 'doesn't have a long life ahead of him,' predicting he could only have two years left, as reported by Evening Standard.
Budanov received the information via 'human intelligence' from Ukraine’s spies apparently operating out of the Kremlin. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said from his office in Kyiv on the weekend that he believed Putin was ill — from 'cancer' — and that this explains the timing of the invasion. He said: 'We have all of his diagnoses,' but did not disclose them, as reported by The Financial Times.
Just last week (Monday 20 June), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to dispel the speculation surrounding Putin's health by saying the Russian President had played hockey.
Claims have been made before
Budanov has previously claimed that Putin 'has several serious illnesses, one of which is cancer.' Similar claims were made last month (May 2022) by a Russian FSB spy who, in messages to FSB defector Boris Karpichkov, said Putin 'has a severe form of rapidly progressing cancer.' He said:
He has no more than two to three years to stay alive.
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