A former British intelligence officer has claimed Vladimir Putin has just three to six months left before he's “medically incapacitated”. The Daily Star reported that since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February, it has been claimed that Putin has incurable cancer, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's - and that he either has just three years to live or is already dead.
Former CIA agent Robert Baer claimed that there could be some truth in the claims. And ex-British intelligence man Christopher Steele agrees.
He told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One: “I don’t see him [Putin] being in power for more than three to six months from now. There are signs his health is failing for a start which will be a factor in this.
“And if what we’re being told by the CIA and others and our own sources is true then it looks as though he could become incapacitated over that sort of period of time. This is a strongman regime where people have to have fear of the leader and if the leader is incapacitated medically, then there will be a move against him, I'm sure.”
The Kremlin has often ignored the claims, and recently spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “It’s absolute nonsense. Everything is fine with the president.”
On Wednesday Putin delayed an annual live TV Q&A with members of the public amid ill-health rumours. The Direct Line To Vladimir Putin event typically runs for three to four hours and has aired in June for four of the past five years, with the exception of the Covid pandemic.
It is thought that his rumoured health issues may mean he is unable to remain on TV for that amount of time. It has been announced that the event will take place in the "foreseeable future", possibly after the conclusion of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 18.
However, those plans have been shelved after Peskov said it will occur on an "unknown" date and not this month. He added: “The Direct Line cannot take place this month. From a technical and substantive point of view, this is a complex and voluminous event."
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