/nginx/o/2022/08/05/14740167t1h5899.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "Ukraine’s intelligence service: Some people in Putin’s closest circle are panicking about his health – Abroad – News")
“Putin’s grip is strong, but no longer absolute,” said one of Newsweek’s interlocutors. “During his entire rule of the Kremlin, the fight has never been so intense, everyone feels that the end is near.”
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All three sources of the magazine – a representative of the US National Intelligence Agency (ODNI), a senior officer of the Air Force and a representative of the Pentagon Intelligence Agency (DIA) – emphasized that due to the isolation of the Russian leader, the US special services cannot provide an accurate assessment of Putin’s health.
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“One of the best sources of our intelligence, [Putina] contacts with third parties, largely depleted as a result of the war in Ukraine,” the DIA employee said.
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“Putin has had few meetings with foreign leaders,” he said, adding that, as a result, access to information that can sometimes be obtained during personal meetings was denied.
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“Putin’s isolation has thus raised the level of speculation,” he admitted.
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“We need to understand the impact of trying to accept what is desired,” said an Air Force officer.
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“We learned that hard lesson, or maybe we didn’t, with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein,” he added.
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Among other things, the investigative journalism publication “Projekt” reported that the Russian president is often visited by a doctor who specializes in the surgical treatment of oncological diseases. This doctor has flown to Putin to Sochi at least 35 times, “Projekt” reported.
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