Putin to undergo cancer surgery; may temporarily hand over power to Patrushev amid war

Russian President Vladimir Putin might undergo cancer surgery and will temporarily hand over power to the Secretary of the country’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, claimed media reports amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Citing a Telegram channel purportedly run by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service lieutenant general, New York Times stated that Putin has been recently told by the doctors that the Kremlin leader must undergo an operation.

The report added that the anticipated surgery and recovery are expected to incapacitate Putin for “a short time”. Referring to Putin’s “sickly appearance and uncharacteristically fidgety behaviour in public” in recent months, NYT noted that the Russian President has been rumoured to suffer from cancer along with other serious ailments such as Parkinson’s disease.

However, a United States official has said that the media reports pertaining to Putin;’s surgery could not be verified by Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. As per the report, the US official said, “I have seen nothing that could help us corroborate that”. 

The surgery and the report of temporary handover of power in Russia come in the backdrop of Putin allegedly going through a two-hour “heart-to-heart” conversation with Patrushev, stated NYT citing the Telegram channel. The post has also claimed that ‘Putin signalled to Patrushev that he considers him to be practically his only trusted ally and friend in the government’. 

‘Additionally, the president promised that if his health takes a turn for the worse, actual control of the country will temporarily pass into Patrushev's hands,’ the report further claimed. 

‘Patrushev is an outright villain’

However, the owner of the Telegram channel which claimed about Putin’s cancer surgery said, “Patrushev is an outright villain. He is no better than Vladimir Putin. Moreover, he is a more cunning, and I would say, more insidious person than Vladimir Putin. If he comes to power, Russians' problems will only multiply”. 

The channel also claimed, “Putin is unlikely to agree to hand over power for a longer period of time” while adding that the control of Patrushev would lead the country for only a couple of days. Patrushevc is the secretary of Russia’s Security Council which is an influential body in the country answering directly to Vladimir Putin and issues guidance on military and security issues. NYT stated that most of the council’s power is with Patrushev, who has emerged with the reputation of a staunch Putin ally. Just last week, Patrushev accused the US and Europe of supporting neo-Nazi ideology in Ukraine and seeking to draw the conflict out “to the last Ukrainian”. 

In a rare interview with state-run Russian paper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Patrushev stated, “Using their henchmen in Kyiv, the Americans, in an attempt to suppress Russia, decided to create an antipode of our country, cynically choosing Ukraine for this, trying to divide essentially a single people”.

Image: AP