Vladimir Putin is seriously ill and it is affecting his decision-making in Ukraine, an ex-Brit spy has claimed.
Christopher Steele, who ran the Russia desk at MI6 in London between 2006 and 2009 and worked there in the 1990s, said he had heard the president was not well.
On February 24, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, marking a steep escalation of the Ukraine war which began in 2014.
He told Sky News: "Certainly, from what we're hearing from sources in Russia and elsewhere, is that Putin is, in fact, quite seriously ill.
"It's not clear exactly what this illness is - whether it's incurable or terminal, or whatever. But certainly, I think it's part of the equation."
There has been a string of claims about the health of the Kremlin leader, with some reports suggesting he is suffering from cancer, undergoing chemotherapy and steroid treatment among other ailments.
Other reports suggest Putin is suffering from Parkinson's or early-stage dementia.
Steele's comments come after Ukrainian Major General Kyrylo Budanov also said the Russian leader is seriously ill with cancer and that an operation to remove him is underway in Russia.
Steele also suggested that Putin's health is "an element" in his decision-making in Ukraine.
New Lines magazine obtained an audio recording of an oligarch close to the Kremlin who described the Russian warmonger as "very ill with blood cancer".
New Lines say a "top-secret memo" was sent out by the FSB, Russia’s domestic security agency, to all its regional directors instructing them not to trust rumours about the President's terminal condition.
Christo Grozev, the head of investigations at Bellingcat, said: "The directors were further instructed to dispel any rumours to this effect that may spread within the local FSB units.
"According to a source at one of the regional units who saw the memo, this unprecedented instruction had the opposite effect, with most FSB officers suddenly coming to believe that Putin indeed suffers from a serious medical condition."
Many have commented on Putin's face which has appeared puffier in recent years. Some say this may be a sign of medication use, as water retention is often caused by steroids and chemotherapy drugs.
Ashley Grossman, a professor of endocrinology at Oxford University, told New Lines: “Putin has always been a very fit-looking man with a slightly gaunt appearance.
"But over the last couple of years, he seems to have filled out in the face and neck. Cushingoid appearance, it’s called, and it’s compatible with steroid use.”
Boris Karpichkov, a KGB defector to Britain, also thinks the Kremlin leader has Parkinson’s disease, along with “numerous” other illnesses including dementia.
He told the Sun: "He is — or at least acts — insane and obsessed by paranoia ideas."
While the Kremlin has said he is fit and well, the health measures in place for foreign visitors have led many to believe otherwise. Anyone who wants to meet with Putin must take a PCR test, provide a faecal sample and then sit at the opposite side of a very long banquet table.
Grossman spoke on the widespread belief that Putin takes steroids. She said anyone on heavy doses of steroids will find it much easier to contract Covid-19 — which may account for the strict measures in place.
And the second side effect is "deeply irrational or paranoid behaviour.”
