Could the Ukraine War End if Putin Is Sick and Passed Away?
Since the onset of Russia’s invasion back in February 2022, it has become increasingly difficult to gather accurate figures and information surrounding the war. From military equipment losses to casualties, exaggerated claims and false numbers have been commonly reported by both sides.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have strategic reasons to skew numbers that support their respective war efforts, making the input of open-source intelligence trackers even more important. Another war-related sphere that has been inundated with a range of claims is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health.
Speculation surrounding the Kremlin chief’s potentially ailing health existed even before the conflict erupted. Once the invasion began, however, these rumors skyrocketed and continue to impact the public’s image of Putin.
What Are The Rumors?
Two versions have monopolized the Putin health rumors over the last eighteen months of warfare, Parkinson’s Disease and terminal cancer. Last November, a leaked intelligence document purported that the 70-year-old president had been diagnosed with early-stage Parkinson’s Disease, a disorder of the central nervous system that impacts movement. According to the allegedly leaked Russian intelligence source, Putin was already being “regularly stuffed with all kinds of heavy steroids and innovative painkilling injections to stop the spread of pancreatic cancer he was recently diagnosed with.”
The Parkinson’s rumors were again brought up earlier this year when video footage showing Putin’s unannounced Crimea trip circulated on social media. In the released clip, the Russian president is surrounded by bodyguards visiting Crimea’s largest city on the Black Sea coast. Putin appears to be limping in the video and experiencing discomfort.
Ukraine’s Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, tweeted a link to the footage, noting that “A visibly limping Putin arrived in occupied Crimea Russian sources report.” Gerashchenko added that “Putin’s visit to Sevastopol to «celebrate» the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea Which, by the way, will be one of the items on Putin’s list of accusations at The Hague Court.”
Terminal Cancer?
Back in June 2022, three American intelligence officials reportedly read information that indicated Putin had undergone cancer treatments the spring prior.
According to Newsweek, an official from the Defense Intelligence Agency, an official from the Director of National Intelligence, and a retired Air Force senior leader also warned that this “intelligence” assessment should be taken with a grain of salt to Putin’s isolation.
Other news sources have suggested that Kremlin officials have been behind perpetrating false cancer rumors in attempts to sabotage the ongoing invasion. A report in The Independent quotes an alleged Pentagon document leak stating that “according to [redacted source], the plan for ‘the offensive’ (no further information) was suspected to be a strategy devised to sabotage Putin.”
While these alarming health rumors are not new, they should certainly not be taken as gospel. Ukrainian forces and anti-Putin entities have strategic reasons to spearhead these rumors.
Regardless of Putin’s actual health condition, the Kremlin would never allow the public to become fully aware, if problems did in fact exist. As Kyiv’s counter-offensive continues, speculations surrounding the Kremlin chief’s health will continue to pop up across the news.
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
From 19FortyFive
