Filenews 13 May 2022
Rumours flare up about the state of health of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.
Rumors, which after the invasion of Ukraine, are being reproduced at a frenzied pace, and which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed, citing Putin's "excellent" health.
A New Lines magazine report claims that Russia's 69-year-old president has blood cancer. The above claim is based on an audio documentary that the magazine has, and in it a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin is quoted as saying and describing that Vladimir Putin is "very sick with blood cancer".
The top secret note
According to the publication, a "top-secret note" was sent from the headquarters of Russia's internal security to all its regional directors, which referred to the management of information about Vladimir Putin's health.
"The directors were further instructed to refute any rumours that might circulate in the FSB's local units.
According to a source in one of the regional units that saw the memo, this unprecedented directive had the opposite effect, with most FSB officers suddenly coming to believe that Putin is indeed suffering from a serious illness," says Christo Grozev, head of research at Bellingcat, a reputable forensic investigation site.
The New Lines magazine's article continues with details of indications that contribute to the fact that the President of Russia is ill, such as walking, something that other international media reported a few days ago. It also refers to the changed appearance of Vladimir Putin - his face is swollen - and it is speculated that this is a side effect of a drug.
Dementia and Parkinson's
The publication also recalls the words of Boris Karpichkov, a KGB defector in Britain, who believes that his colleague - a former spy - suffers from Parkinson's disease, along with "many" other diseases, including dementia.
"He is—or at least acts like—crazy and possesses ideas of paranoia," Karpichkov told the Sun newspaper, comparing Putin to Stalin, who fell victim to at least one stroke.
