A top Ukrainian intelligence official has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ill and "doesn't have a long life ahead of him".
Major General Kyrylo O. Budanov, the Ukrainian spy chief, states that Putin is suffering from several “grave” illnesses and does not have long to live.
Based on this information, Major General Bundanov has claimed that Putin only has two years to live. He has also previously told Sky New that Putin was suffering from cancer, Yorkshire Live reports.
The Russian Government has denied this report. The last time that Russian media reported that Putin was unwell was back in 2012 when he missed several public engagments.
Budanov has also claimed that Ukraine is on the brink of major victories with “wins'' expected by August. He said that Ukrainian success against the Russians would "eventually lead to the change of leadership of the Russian Federation", and that the coup had "already been launched".
A former CIA Moscow station boss, David Hoffman, has also said that a plot to oust the Russian President could already be in progress. The blow will come out of the blue with the plotters striking before Putin suspects them.
While the conflict has been going on since 2014, Russia only formally invaded Ukraine four months ago although it is currently unclear how many troops both sides have lost so far with estimates ranging into the tens of thousands.
The Russian economy has also been seriously impacted by western sanctions, with multiple high profile businesses like McDonald’s and Nike pulling out of the country. Some experts have predicted the Russian economy will undergo a contraction as imports are down 40%.
Meanwhile Budanov was upbeat about Ukraine’s chances: ”The defence of Ukraine has been going on for four months, and the defence of Sieverodonetsk has been going on for a little bit over four weeks,” he said.
However, Russian troops have recently taken the city of Sieverodonetsk with only the city of Lysychansk remaining under Ukrainian control in the Luhansk region of the Donbas.
Budanov said: “Our forces there will not be destroyed, this will not happen."
"This is only a tactical regroup,” he added, “and, as you can see, a tactical regroup is going on in Ukraine as a whole. In certain areas of the frontline we are successfully counterattacking, in certain areas of the frontline we are successfully defending”.
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