Putin fighting cancer, may have survived an assassination attempt: US Intel

New York: US intelligence experts have claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is fighting cancer and receiving aggressive treatment as he periodically stopped making public appearances and has also possibly survived an assassination attempt. The Kremlin has denied such reports.

The revelations have come by high-ranking officials at three separate intelligence agencies after months of speculation that the Russian strongman is suffering from terminal ailments.

"Putin is definitely sick," an official from the office of the Director of National Intelligence told the outlet, while noting, whether he`s going to die soon is "mere speculation".

Two other officials, one from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and a retired Air Force officer, also claimed to have access to a comprehensive intelligence assessment of Putin`s health, and said the outlook for the Russian leader is bleak, according to the report.

The assessment supports the theory that Putin was missing from the world stage for much of April because he was undergoing treatment for advanced cancer, the report said.

"Is Putin sick? Absolutely," the retired Air Force officer said. "But we shouldn`t let waiting for his death drive proactive actions on our part. A power vacuum after Putin could be very dangerous for the world."

The intelligence community also reportedly believes that Putin is increasingly paranoid about his hold on powerand that he may have survived an assassination attempt in March. "Putin`s grip is strong but no longer absolute," one of the senior intelligence officers said. "The jockeying inside the Kremlin has never been more intense during his rule, everyone sensing that the end is near."

The officials also warned that as Putin has become increasingly isolated, access to credible intelligence has become more difficult to obtain. "One source of our best intelligence which is contact with outsiders, largely dried up as a result of the Ukraine war," the senior DIA official said, noting that as Putin has fewer meetings with foreign leaders, there are fewer opportunities to learn about his condition.

Meanwhile, CIA Director Bill Burns made a tongue in cheek remark giving an unusually candid assessment this week, when he told attendees at the Aspen Institute`s annual security confab that Putin is "entirely too healthy".

The Kremlin routinely ridicules any speculation about Putin`s health. Last week, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin felt "fine" and in "good health" before describing speculation to the contrary as "nothing but hoaxes".

(With IANS inputs)