Vladimir Putin's closest allies could assassinate him with a "hammer to the head", according to a former CIA chief.
Daniel Hoffman, a former senior officer who served as Moscow station chief, believes any attempt to overthrow the dictator will be quick and potentially fatal.
And he says the people most likely to enact any such plot will be part of the Russian president's inner circle and motivated by his bungled invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to the Daily Beast, Mr Hoffman said: "These guys that are going to do it are going to be so secret about it, so that Putin doesn't find them and kill them first. It'll happen all of a sudden. And he'll be dead.
"Nobody's gonna ask, 'Hey Vladimir, would you like to leave?' No. It's a f***ing hammer to the head and he's dead."
Mr Hoffman singled out three individuals he thinks are most likely to orchestrate Putin's ultimate demise; defence minister Sergei Shoigu, head of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, and the director of the FSB Alexander Bortnikov.
He believes they all have ambitions to succeed Putin and would keep a close eye over any potential rebellion.
The ex-spy chief's imagery conjures up the assassination of Soviet revolutionary Leon Trotsky, who was notoriously murdered, on the orders from Joseph Stalin, with an ice pick.
But there may be no need for an assassination bid as a result of the ailing health of the former KGB chief, say reports.
Speculation about Putin's health has been mounting for months and it was claimed in April that he required urgent cancer surgery.
Reports also allege that the Russian leader has Parkinson's and "schizophrenic symptoms".
The Kremlin has not responded to the most recent allegations of Putin's poor health, but regularly dismisses claims that he is suffering from any such problems.
