MI6 sources claim Vladimir Putin may already be dead amid speculation about the Russian leader's health.
The Daily Star reports that a body double may have been used for recent appearances, as Kremlin cronies would be keen to cover up his death in an attempt to cling on to power.
There have been rumours that the warmonger's health has been deteriorating in recent months, with his face appearing bloated and observer's questioning whether the 69-year-old might have blood cancer.
Vladimir Putin visits servicemen who were wounded during the Russian military action in Ukraine
Senior MI6 bosses say the Russian president has been seriously ill recently, but that his death would likely be covered up.
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Recent media appearances had very probably been pre-recorded, a source said, while speculating that his appearance at the Moscow Victory Day Parade earlier this month could have been a body double.
One intelligence source: “Putin is very ill and when he dies his death will be kept secret for weeks, if not months.
“There is also the possibility that he is already dead. It’s impossible to know.
“It is believed that Putin has employed body doubles in the past when he has been unwell and the Kremlin could be doing so now.
“Putin is the head of a small group of senior officials who are completely loyal to him.
“The real fear (for his cronies) is that once his death is announced there could be a Kremlin coup and Russian generals will want to withdraw from Ukraine.
“Putin’s death will leave them powerless and vulnerable so they have a vested interest in saying that Putin is alive – when the reverse could be true.”
It is widely believed that Putin is taking steroids or receiving cancer treatment which has left him looking puffy-faced.
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Two weeks ago, a Russian oligarch with close links to the Kremlin said Putin is “very ill with blood cancer” and had surgery before invading Ukraine.
Ukraine’s head of military intelligence Major General Kyrylo Budanov also claimed Putin is seriously ill with cancer.
Russian affairs expert Fiona Hill, who has met Putin in the past, said he was “not looking so great” and could be taking “high doses of steroids”.
Meanwhile, it has emerged Russian tank losses are so great that the Kremlin is having to deploy a machine called the T-62 which is over 60 years old.
