Vladimir Putin May Be Suffering From Parkinson’s Or Cancer, Former Russian Spy Claims

As rumors about Vladimir Putin’s declining health have been swirling around him following recent public appearances, an ex-spy for Russia, Boris Karpichkov, said he believed the rumors and also added that Putin is likely suffering from intense paranoia and believes he is surrounded by “traitors.”

Karpichkov has lived in the United Kingdom since 1998 with his wife and two children after seeking political asylum there from Russia. He was formerly a major in the KGB and its successor agency, the FSB. He even survived a suspected poisoning attack in 2006 thought to be carried out by Russia against the deserter.

He called Putin’s current health an “especially sensitive issue” within the Kremlin as of late. Karphichkov added he is just speculating because “I am not a medic myself… but there is a serious concern that Putin is suffering from numerous physical health conditions – possibly from the sports injuries during the younger years.”

The ex-spy said that Putin having dementia was unlikely because the President “does not forget anything, but “another potential might be, judging from how he moves, that Putin is suffering from the initial stages of either Parkinson’s, or another serious disorder caused by some form of cancer, brain tumor, for example.”

Karpichkov also theorized that the nearly 70-year-old Putin’s paranoia has reached even greater heights, “He sees literally everyone, including those inside the Russian security services and even inside his close inner circle, to be ‘traitors,'” he said. Karpichkov gave Putin’s behavior a grave comparison when he said, “He is so suspicious and so obsessed with his paranoia ideas that he can be now compared to Stalin Tyrant.”

An unverified report by The New York Post even went so far as to claim that Putin is going to have to undergo surgery for cancer in the coming days and that he may have to pass on power over Russia to his ally Nikolai Patrushev while he is incapacitated. John Kirby, a spokesman for the Pentagon, countered this claim on Monday by saying, “I have seen nothing that would help us corroborate that.”