Just rumors or intentionally spread false reports? There has long been speculation about Putin’s state of health. But he probably won’t die that soon, says the head of the Ukrainian secret service.
“Yes, we fully confirm this information. He has several serious illnesses, one of which is cancer,” Budanov told the Ukrainska pravda newspaper. “But it’s not worth hoping that Putin will die tomorrow,” Budanov continued. He still has at least a few years – “whether we like it or not”.
Reports about the Kremlin chief’s alleged health problems have increased recently. The “SVR-General” telegram channel, whose operator allegedly has contacts in the Kremlin, said that Putin had to undergo an operation in mid-May and was then too weak to carry out official business. The former head of the British secret service MI6 expressed the assumption that Putin would end up in a sanatorium “by 2023 at the latest”.
Putin is regularly surrounded by several doctors
The US magazine “New Lines” had previously reported on a Putin confidante who is said to have confirmed to a Western business partner that Putin was seriously ill with blood cancer. The veracity of these reports is difficult to assess, however, since Putin’s medical record is a well-kept secret.
A report by the Russian research network “Proekt media” from the beginning of April is considered reliable. Using publicly available documents, investigative reporters demonstrated that since at least 2016, Putin has been regularly surrounded by several medical specialists, most often a thyroid cancer specialist.
