Vladimir Putin will die “very quickly”: is the Russian president close to death?

Gauthier Delomez, with AFP 4:57 p.m., January 05, 2023

Would the master of the Kremlin be in very bad shape?

According to Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, Russian President Vladimir Putin will die "very quickly. (...) We think it's cancer", he added, relying on "human sources “, in an interview on the American channel ABC and broadcast by BFMTV on Wednesday January 4.

According to several sources, the Russian head of state, who launched the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, is suffering from thyroid cancer or Parkinson's disease.

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"This war should end before he dies," continued the Ukrainian intelligence chief, indicating that he "hoped" for the death of the master of the Kremlin.

"This assessment is neither confirmed nor shared by our allies"

Statements that are difficult to verify, especially by foreign diplomats.

Asked about Vladimir Putin's state of health, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told LCI on Thursday that this "assessment" of Ukrainian intelligence "is neither confirmed nor shared by the various allies with whom we work" .

"To (his) knowledge", this information relayed by the Ukrainian services is inaccurate, she underlined.

Catherine Colonna also assumed that this would be “part of the wishes that (the Ukrainian services) express. 'hope'", continued the head of the Quai d'Orsay.

Side effects of a cancer drug?

The state of health of the Russian president intrigues many analysts.

This is the case of a member of the Danish secret service who told the daily 

 on Friday December 30 that the decision to invade Ukraine militarily in February 2022 may have been influenced by the side effects of a drug taken by Vladimir Putin to treat his cancer.

"Delusions of grandeur are one of the known side effects of the type of hormone treatment he was on," says Joakim, the source's pseudonym.

However, last July, the CIA put to rest rumors about the Kremlin master's form, saying he was "quite in too good health".

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The health of the Russian president therefore continues to be talked about, almost a year after the start of the war in Ukraine.

This Thursday, Vladimir Putin ordered a "ceasefire" in Ukraine on Friday January 6 and Saturday January 7, on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas, after a request to this effect from Patriarch Kirill.