A top Royal Navy admiral has said Vladimir Putin is “a man in a hurry” and added that his mooted terminal illness is the reason behind his hasty invasion of Ukraine.
Retired Rear Admiral Chris Parry hosted an online debate with schoolchildren in Portsmouth, Hampshire on Friday evening, when he made the ominous comments, as reported by The News.
“He has been using these very long tables to interview people,” Falklands veteran Rear Adm Parry said. “I think his immune system might be suppressed at the moment. So he is a man in a hurry.”
The news follows intelligence reports from the Pentagon that suggested the Russian leader is dying from bowel cancer.
It is believed his “puffy face” is a sign he is taking chemotherapy drugs or steroids.
His unsmiling expression shows he is in constant pain, US sources say.
This could have made him more aggressive or he may be attacking Ukraine as he knows he is dying and wants to leave a legacy.
An ex-military intelligence officer now working at the Pentagon said analysts have been studying Putin, 69, and believe he is gravely ill.
The source said: “In the past we have seen him smile, but in 2022 there are few pictures of him looking happy.
“His look suggests he is in pain and our people suggest his angry look is most likely as a result of him being in agony.
“Our people are confident he is ill – he is concerned about Covid as he keeps his staff at a distance.”
Rear Adm Parry also described how the war began and warned of how far president Putin might take it.
“What I think will happen is he will occupy Ukraine to the east of the Dnieper [river], he will totally occupy this region known as “New Russia” across the bottom of the country, cutting Ukraine off from the Black Sea, and he will leave that rump of the north-west, to the west of Kyiv to it’s own devices as long as it stays neutral.”