Putin suffering from several serious illnesses, claims Ukraine intel chief

Gallery

MORE...

Sports

India Open Competition in Shotgun begins in Jaipur, paving way for Nationals' qualification

India Open Competition in Shotgun, organised by the National Rifle Association of India (N

Hockey India names Amir Ali-led 20-man team for Junior Asia Cup

Harmanpreet Singh named FIH Player of the Year, PR Sreejesh gets best goalkeeper award

World Boxing medallist Gaurav Bidhuri to flag off 'Delhi Against Drugs' movement on Nov 17

U23 World Wrestling Championship: Chirag Chikkara wins gold as India end campaign with nine medals

FIFA president Infantino confirms at least 9 African teams for the 2026 World Cup

MORE...

Putin suffering from several serious illnesses, claims Ukraine intel chief

Last Updated : 25 May 2022 12:07:15 AM IST

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin is suffering from 'several serious illnesses' including cancer, but 'will not die tomorrow', a Ukrainian intelligence chief has claimed, Daily Mail reported.

Kiev military spy chief Kyrylo Budanov said he fears the Russian leader still has a 'few more years' left in him.

The major-general claimed Putin was the target of an assassination attempt shortly after launching his invasion of Ukraine.

He said the abortive bid was by representatives of the Caucasus, but gave no further details, Daily Mail reported.

In an much-heralded interview with Ukrayinska Pravda, Budanov, 36, confirmed that the Ukrainians believe Putin is suffering from cancer, but did not add to an advance excerpt from the interview which revealed an apparent assassination bid on him.

"He has several serious illnesses, one of which is cancer. But it is not worth hoping that Putin will die tomorrow. He has at least a few more years. Like it or not, but it's true," he said.

Budanov claimed Putin was in a 'confused' state mentally.

"Here we can argue a lot about the state of the dictator, who thought he would capture the whole country [Ukraine] in three days and raise the Russian flag on the administration building in Kiev," he said, Daily Mail reported.

"And for the third month in a row, declaring that he has the second and sometimes the first army in the world, he cannot cope, in his words, with backward non-state Ukraine," Budanov said.

Putin has 'significantly reduced people's access to people'. He allows in 'quite a small number of people' and 'keeps everyone else at a distance', he added.

Asked if he believes Putin is grooming a successor, he suggested his medical condition has made him 'manic'.