A Moscow hospital is on standby as Russian President Vladimir Putin suffers from pancreatic cancer, it has been speculated.
Ex-Soviet and now Israeli journalist Mark Kotlyarsky claimed the cancer diagnosis was confirmed to him by both Kremlin and medical informers in Moscow.
He posted: "Putin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - a malignant aggressive tumour, which is characterised by uncontrolled growth of glandular and epithelial tissues in the excretory ducts of the organ.
“Moreover, most likely, the disease progresses so much that the operation, if it prolongs life, [will not do so] for long.
“According to sources, we are talking about a maximum of three to four months.”
He said that “one of the buildings of the Blokhin Centre has been urgently mobilised” in Moscow.
Putin was expected for “a procedure called paracentesis or puncture of the abdominal cavity".
Arkady Yankovskiy, a liberal politician and former MP, also posted: "The Blokhin Centre for Oncology is in full readiness.
“The operating building has been cordoned off, extraneous patients have been removed, and the established security regime is the highest.”
Kotlyarsky said that the Kremlin had made preparations for Putin’s surgery.
He wrote: "It is possible that in the event of a fatal outcome, the country will be headed by a special State Council.
“It is assumed that this body - as a transitional one - will govern Russia indefinitely in order to try to at least minimise the damage caused by the confrontation with Ukraine.
“The war will certainly be stopped, the troops will be withdrawn.”
He told Mozhem Obyasnit [We Can Explain] Telegram channel that one of his interlocutors was from Moscow's medical circles, and another was close to the Kremlin administration’s unit responsible for the health of the president.
His sources were well informed about the president's health situation and trustworthy, he said.
However, these claims appeared untrue as pictures and video today from the leading Russian cancer hospital showed no sign of additional security or high alert.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this week denied that Putin had health problems.
He told France’s TF1 television: “President Vladimir Putin makes public appearances on a daily basis.
“You can see him on TV screens, read and listen to his speeches.
“I don’t think that a sane person can suspect any signs of an illness or ailment in this man.
“I’ll leave it on the conscience of those who disseminate such rumours despite daily opportunities for everyone to see how he looks….”
There are other claims from the General SVR channel which has long insisted that Putin is suffering from abdominal cancer.
Separately, there have been assertions from Russia that he had blood or thyroid cancer.
Valery Solovey, associated with General SVR channel, said: “Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] is alive, alive but deeply unwell.”
He said: “The Russian president does have very serious problems with his health…This information cannot be hidden.”
Solovey was formerly a professor at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) - attended by future top diplomats and spies, while General SVR claims it has inside intelligence from the Kremlin.
There have been recent Western claims about Putin’s health, notably from ex-MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove, who said the Russian leader faces being sent to a sanatorium, and will be gone by 2023, due to medical issues.
Putin - who will be 70 in October - recently failed to take part in an annual ice hockey match that is normally a regular fixture in his diary.
