Vladimir Putin uses political prisoners as his personal "exchange fund" and to get even with the West, it has been claimed.
The Russian tyrant has used soldiers captured during his so-called "special operation" in Ukraine in a similar way to appeal for the release of his locked-up pals.
Last month, two British soldiers were threatened with show trials unless Boris Johnson swapped them for one of Putin's long-time allies, Viktor Medvechuk.
Shaun Pinner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 28, made what seemed to be carefully scripted appeals to the PM to arrange the exchange of the despot's chum - who was arrested earlier that month by Ukrainian intelligence agents.
The Kremlin also jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny - who nearly lost his life when he was poisoned with Novichok - for nine years of strict regime prison for 'fraud and insulting the court’.
Earlier this month, Navalny revealed he fears being moved to a "torture" prison notorious for sexual violence when his new sentence comes into force.
Putin locks up his opponents - even those within Russia itself - to punish his Western critics, according to Telegram channel General SVR - which is allegedly run by an ex-Russian Foreign Intelligence Service lieutenant general.
A post on the channel reads: "It must be understood that Russian President Vladimir Putin considers almost all political prisoners in Russia to be his hostages and regards them, on the one hand, as an 'exchange fund', and on the other hand, he uses repressions against political prisoners as a way to get even with the West."
The post claims the paranoid leader thinks anyone opposing the Russian state must be backed up by foreign spooks.
Though they know the tyrant's delusions are "complete nonsense", they continue to "give him what he wants to see and hear", the post adds.
And anyone who disagrees with Putin's orders is automatically a "traitor who had been bought by Western intelligence services".
The channel adds the twisted president thinks cracking down on his political opponents in Russia will hurt the West.
A former British spy claims Putin is in the throes of a serious illness which is affecting his decision-making regarding the war in Ukraine.
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.
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.
