President Putin has been treated for advanced cancer this spring.
The information is in the latest classified American intelligence report, writes Newsweek.
– He’s definitely sick. Whether he is dying is only speculation, a source told the newspaper.
The new classified information, which was prepared and presented to the White House at the end of May, may be the most concrete mystery to date regarding the health of the Russian president.
Ever since the invasion of Ukraine began, Putin’s health has been shrouded in rumors and speculation.
It has been claimed that the president has more or less become mentally ill from isolation during the pandemic, that he suffers from Parkinson’s and other more or less credible theories put forward by analysts and opposition figures who have previously been inside the Kremlin.
Fourth report on Putin
Now the US intelligence service has produced a fourth evaluation of Putin and his inner circle.
The report is taken very seriously in the White House – especially since US intelligence has so far proved to be true ahead of Russia’s invasion.
The newspaper Newsweek now recounts parts of the content of the report with reference to three centrally located sources who read it.
The spy report says that the reason Putin stayed away from the public in parts of April was that he was being treated for advanced cancer.
The report also states that the previously circulated information about a failed assassination attempt on the president is correct.
The feeling that the end is near
The newspaper’s sources, who represent three different intelligence services, say they are worried about Putin’s increased paranoia about his grip on power.
– Putin’s power is strong, but no longer absolute. The positioning within the Kremlin has never been greater under Putin’s rule. Everyone feels that the end is near, says one of the sources who read the report to Newsweek.
All the newspaper’s sources also point to the fact that the president’s isolation from the outside world makes it more difficult to determine with certainty what Putin’s status and state of health are.
– We know that there is an iceberg out there, but it is hidden in fog, says one.
– One of the sources of our best intelligence, contacts with outsiders, largely disappeared after the invasion. Putin’s isolation has increased the degree of speculation, says the other.
– We must be aware of the risks of wishful thinking. We learned, or did not learn, the lesson the hard way with Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, says the third.
Mysterious grip on the table
Still, it is believed that the pictures and videos of Putin that have appeared recently are important.
Even the meeting with French President Macron at the now world-famous giant table two weeks before the invasion began, led the intelligence services to believe that not everything was right with Putin.
– There were no handshakes, no hugs and we noticed it, says one of Newsweek’s sources.
He says that the French intelligence service made many observations during Macron’s trip to Moscow.
After Putin was absent from public for much of April, he appeared in a meeting with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on April 21.
The president seemed to sit hunched over in his chair during the meeting and had a mysterious grip on the table with his right hand.
Some analysts who commented after the images were spread said that they were signs of Parkinson’s. Others put forward the theory that it could be about Putin’s training within the KGB where you should always have your right arm ready to draw your weapon.
Killed murder plot
At the same time, the video was analyzed in detail for the White House by the intelligence services. Experts in making remote diagnoses were involved. Like a psychiatrist.
The consensus among the experts, and what was presented to the White House, was that Putin was ill and likely to die, writes Newsweek.
After further appearances where Putin did not look healthy, for example during the victory day on May 9, the opinion that the president’s condition is a really serious foothold in larger parts of the intelligence services.
Shortly afterwards, the CIA is said to have found evidence that the Russian security service has discovered and cracked down on a murder plot against the president.
One must have heard repeated stories of dissatisfaction within the Kremlin and that parts of the Russian diplomatic corps should want to jump off to the West.
In recent weeks, Putin has appeared in public. He has visited wounded soldiers at a military hospital in Moscow (although many have speculated that the “soldiers” were actually actors) and talked on the phone with the Italian Prime Minister and Turkish President Erdogan.
Is definitely sick
According to Newsweek’s sources, Biden’s administration is still grappling with the question of whether Putin is really dying and whether a coup is imminent in Moscow. At the same time, it is said outwardly that everything is just rumors.
The newspaper’s intelligence sources say that a weak Putin is good for the world.
– A weakened Putin, a leader in obvious decline, has less influence over his advisers and subordinates if he, for example, were to order a nuclear attack, says one of the sources.
– Putin is definitely sick. Whether he is dying is only speculation, says the source to Newsweek.
– But we can not sit back and just rely on intelligence that confirms our own wishes. He is still dangerous and there will be chaos if he dies. We need to focus on that. Be ready.