Putin To Undergo Emergency Cancer Surgery As Ex-Spy Chief Takes Over War Effort: Report

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth month of fighting, Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported on Monday to be undergoing surgery on a rumored cancer diagnosis, which he was said to have put off due to the war against Ukraine.

Telegram channel General SVR, which is said to be run by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service officer, posted the reported rumors of Putin’s surgery, which they said was postponed the first time due to his need to focus more on the Ukrainian invasion, according to the New York Post.

“In medical circles, it is believed that the president was undergoing a complicated procedure related to some kind of thyroid disease during this period,” the report stated.

During his time under the knife, the command of the troops is said to go down to 70-year-old Nikolai Patrushev, the Security Council head who convinced Putin to invade Ukraine due to the supposed neo-Nazis that Russia believes prevail in Kyiv, WION News reported.

“I will say that this is the worst option,” the report stated. “Patrushev is an outright villain. He is no better than Vladimir Putin. Moreover, he is a more cunning, and I would say, more insidious person than Vladimir Putin. If he comes to power, Russians’ problems will only multiply.”

“We know that Putin signaled to Patrushev that he considers him to be practically his only trusted ally and friend in the government,” the report continued. “Additionally, the president promised that if his health takes a turn for the worse, actual control of the country will temporarily pass into Patrushev’s hands.”

Rumors of the Russian dictator’s failing health have been in the air for years, with Putin reportedly suffering from Parkinson’s disease as well as abdominal cancer, though none of this has been confirmed in public by Western intelligence or Russia itself.

A recent video of Putin showed him to have a sickly appearance as he gripped the edges of the table in apparent discomfort. In spite of this, the Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said that they were unable to confirm the accuracy of the report.

“I have seen nothing that could help us corroborate that,” Kirby said.