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The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, assured this Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “very ill” with cancer: “He is in a very poor physical and psychological condition.” The official also foresees a change of power in Russia, which, as he admits, can occur through a coup d’état, emphasizing that “the process [de transferência] already going.”
In an interview with Sky News, Kirill Budanov believes that the defeat in the war in Ukraine can also accelerate the coup d’état and – as a consequence – the departure of Vladimir Putin from power.
Showing “optimism” about the outcome of the war, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence points out that the conflict can be resolved by the end of the year, stressing that the “turning point” could happen as early as mid-August. “Most of the fighting will be over by the end of the year,” he says, predicting a Ukrainian victory that could reclaim “the territory it lost,” including Donbass and Crimea.
Kirill Budanov says that Russian tactics have not changed on the battlefield. Despite the turn to the east, official signals that the Moscow forces suffer “great losses” both in terms of soldiers and equipment, still denouncing that many Russian forces are deserting.
A PUB • CONTINUE TO READ BELOW
By assuring that Ukraine knows “everything” about Russia, including its plans, Kirill Budanov devalues Russian military power. “Europe sees Russia as a serious threat. They are afraid of aggression”he fired, adding that “the highly publicized Russian government is a myth.”
“They’re not that powerful”the official points out, showing that Russian troops have been pushed back to the border near Kharkiv, a region in which Ukraine has recaptured villages and towns that were temporarily occupied by Russia.
Faced with the possibility of spreading pro-Ukrainian propaganda, Kyrylo Budanov dismisses it, claiming it is “his work”. “If it’s not me, who knows these things?”he asked.
The rumor that Vladimir Putin is ill is not new. Also this Friday New Lines magazine access to an audio recording of a conversation between a Russian oligarch close to the Kremlin, in which he says that the Russian president is “severely ill with blood cancer.” The entry does not specify whether it was leukemia, lymphoma, or any other type of cancer.
The specialized website Bellingcat assures that the Russian special services sent a memorandum classified as “secret” with a request to refute this information.
“The memo told the regional authorities not to trust rumors about the president’s terminal illness,” Bellingcat’s Kristo Grozev explained. “Instructions have also been given to refute these rumors in their local units. According to a source in one of these units who saw the memo, this unprecedented instruction backfired: most FSB officers began to believe that Putin was indeed seriously ill.
