Vladimir Putin ’s “time is running out” claims an expert, amid speculation the Russian president’s health is failing as fast as his war in Ukraine.
Reports have been leaked from Moscow for months suggesting the 69-year-old is undergoing treatment for a litany of illnesses, such as Parkinson’s and cancer.
The inability of his forces to wipe out the Ukrainian threat has taken an additional toll on his health, with rumours of secret visits to doctors spread around the Kremlin.
Now University College London Professor Mark Galeotti, who has written a biography of Putin, says the end may soon be nigh for the warmonger.
He told Mail Online : “Time is running out. He’ll be 70 in October and he is clearly unwell. “Rumour has it that he may have Parkinson’s disease, or thyroid cancer or blood cancer. I am not a doctor, but I have been watching Putin closely for 25 years and there is something very wrong.
“It was strange to see him — the man who made such political capital out of his black belt in judo, his ice-hockey and bare-chested horse-riding — sitting at the Victory Day commemoration of triumph over the Nazis in Moscow on May 9 surrounded by ten bodyguards and with a blanket over his knees.
"The Russian president has always been security conscious, but today, on the losing side of his ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine for which he has only himself to blame, Putin is more paranoid than ever."
The professor, who is the author of 24 books on Russia, also speculated on links between Putin’s current mentality and Adolf Hitler’s final days in the bunker as the Allies closed in on Berlin in the end days of the Second World War.
On Victory Day, the Russian despot was seen coughing at the parade before he pulled a heavy blanket over his knees - despite the weather topping 9C in Moscow.
Publicly the Kremlin has stated that Putin is fit and well but his strict precautions during the pandemic and use of a long table to meet other political leaders have strengthened rumours.
Many leading military and security officials - as well as Putin's own cronies - believe the leader to be dying or to be gravely ill.
Earlier this month Ukrainian Major General Kyrylo Budanov waded into the debate to claim Putin is in a “very bad condition” with cancer and other illnesses ravishing his body.
He said at the time: “Mr Putin is in a very bad psychological and physical condition and he is very sick."
"It's my job, it's my work, if not me who will know this?”
Rumours swirled of a possible Parkinson’s diagnosis when a video was shared of Putin meeting Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Footage showed the former KGB operative is seen holding one hand to his chest while the other is held in a fist.
As his hand begins to tremor uncontrollably, Putin pulls it close to his chest, in an apparent attempt to stop the shaking.
Despite his efforts, as he walks toward his long-time ally and fellow election stealer he wobbles unsteadily as his legs continue to tremble.
