Sir Richard Dearlove, the former chief of British intelligence, predicted on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will no longer lead his country by 2023 due to ill health.
“I think he’ll be gone by 2023, but probably to the sanatorium,” Dearlove said during the One Decision podcast, adding that the 69-year-old Putin will no longer emerge as “Russia’s leader” after he came out of the medical facility . “It’s a way to move things forward without a coup.”
During his interview, Dearlove also predicted that the Russian regime could “crack apart” in the next 12 to 18 months due to Western sanctions against the country, the conflict in Ukraine and Russia’s current military performance.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of British intelligence, predicted that by 2023 Russian President Vladimir Putin will no longer be at the helm of his country. Above: Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu leave Red Square after the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow May 9. Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images
Dearlove’s comments come amid ongoing speculation about Putin’s health, although the Kremlin has not commented publicly since the war in Ukraine began.
Earlier this week, US film director Oliver Stone said that during the time the filmmaker focused on the Russian president, the Russian president had already been battling and overcoming cancer.
“Remember, Mr. Putin had this cancer and I think he licked it,” Stone said, without specifying the type of cancer he had.
The American director, known for famous films such as JFK, Scarface and Platoon, conducted several interviews with Putin on various topics from 2015 to 2017, British radio station LBC reported on Saturday. According to TDPel Media, however, Stone has not met Putin for three years.
Christopher Steele, a former UK intelligence official, recently took a similar stance, saying that Putin has left meetings to seek medical treatment.
“Security Council meetings that are shown to last a full hour are actually divided into several sections,” Steele, who served in MI6’s intelligence office, said during an interview with LBC radio. “[Putin] going out between those sections and receiving some kind of medical treatment.”
He added that Putin “is constantly escorted around the site by a team of doctors,” but did not explain the basis of his speculation, instead claiming “it’s certainly having a very serious impact on the governance of Russia at the moment.” “
“There is increasing disarray in the Kremlin and chaos, in fact, that there is no clear political leadership from Putin, who is increasingly ill,” he said.
Meanwhile, Visegrád 24 News posted a video on Twitter last month speculating that the Russian president might have Parkinson’s disease.
“This is probably the clearest video that something is wrong with Putin’s health. Look at his tremors in his legs and hands! Is there a doctor willing to weigh you? Visegrád 24 News tweeted.
A video also showed Putin clutching a table during a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, prompting social media users to question his health.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.