COUP TO OUST PUTIN ‘ALREADY UNDER WAY’
Spy chief predicts tyrant will be deposed in August
UKRAINE’S spy chief last night claimed that a coup to remove Vladimir Putin is already under way and that Russia would lose the war by the end of this year.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, 36, said he believed a turning point in the conflict will come later this summer that will eventually see Putin ousted from office.
It was also claimed yesterday by an unnamed Russian oligarch that Putin is currently ‘very ill with blood cancer’.
‘The breaking point will be in the second part of August,’ General
Budanov told Sky News. ‘Most of the active combat will have finished by the end of this year.
‘It will eventually lead to the change of leadership of the Russian Federation. This process has already been launched.
‘As a result, we will renew Ukrainian power in all our territories.’
General Budanov’s comments are the most upbeat assessment given by any Ukrainian official since the war began.
But the Ukrainian head of military intelligence was one of the few top officials to correctly predict Russian troops and tanks would pour over Ukraine’s borders to try to seize its territory.
However in a rebuke to Russia’s claims of military prowess, he branded Moscow’s army ‘a horde of people with weapons’, adding that ‘this highly publicised Russian power is a myth’.
General Budanov also claimed Putin, 69, is in a ‘very bad psychological and physical condition’, saying that he is suffering from cancer and other illnesses.
His health has been the subject of speculation this year, with his face becoming visibly puffy from what has been described as steroid use to treat one of his conditions.
Recent video footage also shows him clutching a table to steady his shaking hands. The speculation comes as an audio recording of an oligarch – named only as ‘Yuri’ – was said to have been obtained by a Western venture capitalist and shared with New Lines magazine.
In it, the oligarch reportedly made a number of claims concerning Putin’s health, highlighting him suffering from lower back problems as evidence of his condition. Putin underwent surgery on his back in October 2021.
It has also been claimed that Putin is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, and he was shown awkwardly walking through Red Square during this week’s Victory Day parade. The magazine said it was able to authenticate the oligarch’s identity and voice, but would not reveal his name because of repercussions he could face for criticising Putin.