According to Galeotti, this is an attempt by Ukraine to sow divisions within the Russian elite. “If Kiev really thinks a coup is imminent, it would be in their best interest to remain silent.”
Cost-benefit analysis
The Russia expert thinks it must get much worse for Russia before Putin has to fear for his leadership. The top of the armed forces, the security services and the oligarchs: according to Galeotti, they always make a cost-benefit analysis.
“Many of them would like to see Putin fall, but at the moment the risk of going against the president is far too great. The question is how they make that trade-off if Putin becomes seriously ill, or if the economy collapses.”
‘sick’
Persistent rumors state that this first scenario is already the case. An oligarch is said to have said on audio recording that Putin has blood cancer. And a defected KGB agent claims the 69-year-old president suffers from Parkinson’s and dementia.
That speculation is reinforced by videos in which Putin appears to make spastic movements with his right hand during official moments, or cling to a table and wiggle his feet remarkably:
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