Fresh concerns over the state of Vladimir Putin's mental health and the risk of a nuclear attack have been raised. One oligarch with close links to the Russian president has warned the leader's “psychiatric health is bad indeed”.
It is understood the billionaire has issued a warning to colleagues. And he said those close to Putin have concerns over what he will do next as he continues his onslaught in Ukraine, following the invasion of the country earlier this year.
Last week, journalist Christo Grozev said the president's top commanders planned to ignore any command from him to carrying out a nuclear attack because they believe he is seriously ill. He said then while he had no exact data about his health condition people close to him, including oligarchs, believe he has cancer, reports the Daily Star.
A trusted source said: “People who personally know [this oligarch close to Putin] and other [insiders] have told me that big business closely affiliated to power are sitting as quiet as mice because the emperor’s madness is real, and the nuclear strike’s threat is very real, too." They said those “most strongly opposed to the war” in the elite “have shut up” because of the dangers of challenging him.
“They told me that Putin’s psychiatric health is bad indeed, and stories about him going bonkers are not a joke," they added. “There is some really serious trauma there, with everyone scared of its consequences.”
The unnamed oligarch is a well-known name in Russia, and he has known the Russian leader closely for many decades. Other reports suggest Putin is suffering the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, and grips a desk to avoid involuntary shaking.
General SVR - which uses the acronym of Russian foreign intelligence - said last month that Putin may soon vanish for a period as undergoes surgery linked to cancer. He has allegedly secretly nominated his hardline security council security secretary Nikolai Patrushev - a former KGB counterintelligence officer who once headed the FSB - to take “control” of Russia while he is incapacitated.
Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect of the Ukrainian war strategy and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv was awash with neoNazis.
The latest warning cames as Putin helds a Red Square parade with 11,000 troops, and his most modern missiles and tanks on Monday. His Doomsday plane - from which he can control Russia in a nuclear war - was also expected to feature in the Victory Day commemoration for the first time in 12 years, a sign of deep tension with the West. Although weather conditions have sparked rumours all flying demonstrations could be cancelled today.
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