Putin Is Terminally Ill With Cancer, Says Ukraine Spy Chief

A Ukrainian spy chief has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is suffering from cancer, fueling long-standing rumors about the Kremlin head's health.

Speaking in an interview with ABC News published Wednesday, Kyrylo Budanov, the Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, said he knows for sure that Putin has cancer.

"He has been sick for a long time; I am sure he has cancer. I think he will die very quickly. I hope very soon," he said, adding that the information came from sources close to the Russian president.

Budanov also added that while Putin will die very soon, it will likely happen after Ukraine wins the war against Russia.

"This war must end before his death," the defense intelligence chief said.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Putin has become the subject of rumors claiming he is suffering from severe illnesses, including cancer and Parkinson's disease.

On Sunday, Danish newspaper Berlingske published an interview with a Danish intelligence officer named Joakim, who claimed Putin is experiencing chronic pain following several falls or accidents.

"That's the curious thing. This is chronic pain that he has suffered from for quite some time now," Joakim said, adding, "That's why he tends to sit and grab things tightly. It's to ease the pain."

During the interview, Joakim also said he believes Putin was receiving treatment for cancer at the time he started the war, which he said may have influenced the Russian leader's decision.

In December, Russian historian and political analyst Valery Solovey suggested that Putin is being kept alive by Western medicine, such as advanced treatments and target therapy, which are unavailable in Russia.

"I can say that without this [foreign] treatment he would definitely not have been in public life in the Russian Federation," Solovey said.

In April 2022, an investigation carried out by journalists for independent Russian media Proekt concluded that Putin might have had cancer of the thyroid, adding that he was often accompanied on trips by 10 doctors, including oncologist Evgenii Selivanov. The publication noted that Selivanov was a doctor who dealt with thyroid problems.