Putin suffering 'grave' illnesses and will be dead in two years, Ukraine spy chief claims
27 June 2022, 13:51 | Updated: 27 June 2022, 14:24
Russian president Vladimir Putin is suffering "grave" illnesses and will be dead within the next few years, Ukraine's spy chief has claimed.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Head of the Ukrainian intelligence service Major General Kyrylo Budanov said the leader "doesn't have a long life ahead of him".
He explained that Kyiv spies who infiltrated the Kremlin made the claims based on "human intelligence", according to USA Today.
Mr Budanov did not provide any specific evidence for the claims, but Putin's health has been subject to speculation since the war in Ukraine began.
He has been pictured looking hunched and bloated amid reports he has been treated for advanced cancer, causing him to experience 'roid rage' - steroid side effects of the treatment.
The 69-year-old's legs also appeared to buckle during a speech in Moscow earlier in the month.
He had been attending an awards ceremony at the Kremlin.
Read more: 'Let's show Putin our pecs': G7 leaders mock Russian leader for his topless pics
Read more: Russian invasion of Ukraine made Nato 'look again' at military capability, says defence chief
Zelensky speaks with G7 leaders as they prepare new aid for Ukraine
The Kremlin has not commented on the latest allegations of Putin's health, but experts have dismissed claims about his poor health on several occasions.
In May, Budanov claimed that Putin was "very sick" with cancer and other illnesses.
The Kremlin leader is in "very bad psychological and physical condition", he told Sky News.
It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hopes the conflict in Ukraine will come to an end by the end of the year.
He is believed to have told G7 leaders not to let the conflict in his country "drag on over winter", adding that they "must do everything possible to try to end this war before the end of the year".
The Ukrainian president told the leaders gathered in Germany that "if Ukraine wins you all win".
And in a sign he was not willing to back down and accept a peace deal that gave up swathes of Ukraine to Russia, the president said: "We will only negotiate from a position of strength."
