An unverified Russian channel on the Telegram app has claimed that doctors have told Putin that he will have to undergo surgery. The anticipated surgery and recovery are expected to incapacitate Putin for "a short time," the report said.
The General SVR Telegram channel had first raised the issue of Putin's health-including abdominal cancer and Parkinson's some 18 months ago.
It is suggested that 69-year-old Putin has already delayed surgery. The surgery had been scheduled for the second half of April but was delayed.
Referring to Putin's supposedly "sickly appearance and uncharacteristically fidgety behaviour in public" in recent times, the report said that the Russian President has been rumoured to suffer from cancer and a host of other serious maladies, including Parkinson's disease.
However, a US official said that the media reports could not be verified with Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby saying on Monday that "I have seen nothing that could help us corroborate that," New York Post reported.
About Nikolai Patrushev:
As per the Telegram channel, Patrushev is an ‘outright villain’, and 'he is a more cunning and insidious person than Vladimir Putin'. The owner of the Telegram channel has claimed that if Patrishev will come to power, it will only multiply Russia's problem.
Like Putin, Patrushev is a career Russian intelligence agent, first with the Soviet KGB, then later with the Russian FSB.
However, Putin is unlikely to agree to hand over power for a longer period. The Telegram channel claimed that the control of the country will likely be in Patrushev's hands for no more than two to three days.
