Russian President Vladimir Putin underwent treatment in April for advanced cancer, according to a new U.S. classified intelligence report.
The intelligence report also says that Putin survived an assassination attempt back in March, after the invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin’s grip is strong but no longer absolute,” one of three intelligence officers from three different intelligence agencies who read the report told Newsweek. “The jockeying inside the Kremlin has never been more intense during his rule, everyone sensing that the end is near.”
One source came from the office of the Director of National Intelligence. “What we know is that there is an iceberg out there, albeit one covered in fog,” the DNI officer told Newsweek. “One source of our best intelligence, which is contact with outsiders, largely dried up as a result of the Ukraine war. Putin has had few meetings with foreign leaders… Putin’s isolation has thus increased levels of speculation.”
A number of recent public appearances by Putin have contributed to the speculation that he is unwell.
Many experts argue Putin’s possible illness doesn’t mean that Russia will be less dangerous.
“Even if they agree that the intelligence [that Putin is dying] is reliable,” the DNI officer said, “they can’t bank on an expiration date nor signal their support for a Russia without Putin.”
“A nuclear-armed Russia is still a nuclear-armed Russia, whether Putin is strong or weak, in or out, and not wanting to provoke him or his potential successor into thinking we are hellbent on their destruction is an important part of continued strategic stability,” the official added.
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