Vladimir Putin may soon vanish for a period as he is due to undergo surgery linked to cancer, according to a new claim.
He has allegedly secretly nominated his hardline security council security secretary Nikolai Patrushev - a former KGB counterintelligence officer - to take “control” of Russia while he is incapacitated.
Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect of the Ukrainian war strategy and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv was awash with neo-Nazis.
The extraordinary unconfirmed claims come from General SVR Telegram channel, which first raised issues of Putin’s health - including abdominal cancer and Parkinson’s - some 18 months ago.
They come amid speculation that Putin will announce all-out war in Ukraine, and order mass mobilisation of military-age men. Such a move would be seen as high-risk since many may refuse to fight.
It is suggested Putin, 69, has already delayed surgery, which is now unlikely to take place before he presides over the grandiose Red Square 9 May Victory Day commemoration of the defeat of Hitler.
The surgery had been scheduled for the second half of April but was delayed, it was claimed.
"Putin was recommended to undergo surgery, the date of which is being discussed and agreed,” said a report from the outlet which claims to be privy to insider Kremlin information.
“There seems to be no particular urgency, but it cannot be delayed either.”
It went on: “The Russian President Vladimir Putin has oncology, and the latest problems identified during [his latest] examination are associated with this disease.”
He also suffers from “Parkinson's disease and schizoaffective disorder”.
The latter is defined as “a mental health disorder that is marked by a combination of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions, and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression or mania”.
The Kremlin has always strongly denied Putin has medical problems and portrays him in robust health, even during several mysterious absences in recent years.
But Sir Richard Dearlove, an ex-MI6 boss recently told GB News there is often a link between the disease and a “loss of restraint”.
Sir Dearlove, who headed up the secret service from 1999 until 2004, said: "Maybe Putin’s behaviour - maybe his rationality - is prejudiced or compromised by illness.
"The best explanation, that we don’t know whether it’s correct or not, is that he may have Parkinson’s.
"That certainly I’ve heard from several neurologists who say that loss of restraint, psychosis, are very common Parkinson’s symptoms."
In a video detailing the General SVR claims, the outlet’s source - supposedly an anonymous former high-ranking Kremlin military figure - said: “Putin has discussed that he will be undergoing medical procedures.
“Doctors insist that he needs an operation, but the date has not yet been determined.
“He will have surgery and while he is incapacitated.”
The unconfirmed source went on: “I don't know for exactly how long [he will be incapacitated after the surgery]…
“I think it'll be for a short time.”
Putin was “unlikely to agree to transfer power” but was ready to put in place a “charge d’affaires” to control Russia and the war effort.
“So, while Putin has the operation and comes to his senses…likely two or three days…the actual control of the country passes only to [Nikolai] Patrushev.”
Such a move would be surprising since under the constitution, power should pass solely to the prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, 56, a low-profile technocrat without known military or secret services links.
The outlet said the choice of spymaster Patrushev - which came after a two-hour “heart to heart” with Putin - was the “worst option”.
“What if, all of a sudden, Putin manifests particularly severe health problems?
“We know very well that he has cancer, and Parkinson's disease, plus a schizoaffective disorder, as we have said many times.”
His oncology is “progressing”, alleged General SVR.
“It was possible to contain it for some time, but now the course of the disease is progressing.
“I do not want to voice any forecasts now, so as not to reassure you once again, because in this situation you should not be very hopeful.”
In another post, the outlet said: ‘We know that Putin made it clear to Patrushev that he considers him almost the only truly trusted person and friend in the system of power.
“Further, the president promised that in case of a sharp deterioration of his (Putin's) health, the actual management of the country would be transferred, temporarily, to Patrushev.”
The latest post on the suspected medical problems said: “Putin's doctors insist on the need for him to undergo surgery in the near future.
“And although Putin did not give his consent in principle and the date of the operation was not agreed, he hurried to explain himself and get Patrushev's reaction and agreement.”
Earlier it claimed Putin had been “prescribed new drugs” from the West and given heavier doses.
"According to our information, one of the new medicines recommended by doctors after oral administration caused side effects in Putin in the form of severe dizziness and weakness,” said a post earlier this month.
“The doctor who recommended this medicine has been removed from the treatment process and is being tested.
“The drug itself, which was imported from one unfriendly state, is also being tested.”
Recent investigative reports by exiled Russian journalists have suggested Putin has thyroid cancer, and indicated he is constantly surrounded by a team of top doctors.
Attention has focused recently on his behaviour to control a seeming involuntary shake in his hand - renewing speculation of Parkinson’s first highlighted in 2020 by General SVR.
At a meeting with Defence minister Sergei Shoigu, he was seen firmly gripping a desk.
The channel said: “Many drew attention to the sickly appearance of the president, his puffy, swollen face and hands tightly clasped around the table top.
"There is nothing surprising here.
“Putin's health has recently deteriorated, we have already written about this, and the president's unhealthy appearance only confirms this.
“For more than a month, the attending physicians have not been able to convince Putin to change the drugs that suppress the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, since the old ones no longer give the desired effect, and the president is simply afraid to experiment with new ones.
“Clinging to the table with his hands is a way to hide a small but quite noticeable tremor.”
The channel has been linked to Professor Valery Solovey, 61, who in February, was held for a seven hour interrogation apparently possibly linked to the regular claims about Putin’s supposed medical and mental condition .
Solovoy was a professor at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) - attended by future top diplomats and spies.
