Ukrainian secret services and other sources say a coup is being prepared against Putin. No matter how little information is leaking outside the Kremlin, there is still some evidence of strange developments around the government.
Russian President Vladimir Putin certainly did not imagine that the invasion of Ukraine would develop in this way. The progress of the Russian army is slow, and the Russians are making great sacrifices. The war has been going on for three months now, and rumors that Putin may face a forced overthrow are growing.
The head of the Ukrainian intelligence Kirilo Budanov commented on this alleged scenario in an interview with the British media “Sky News”. The top intelligence officer claims that this is not just possible, but has even begun. Budanov did not present evidence for his claims and they should certainly be considered with some doubt. However, the Ukrainian spy commented on several things that he believes suggest a coup against Putin.
The investigative platform “Agency”, for example, revealed a number of unusual events among the inner circle of power around Putin, as well as among the secret services. According to these data, two important agents of the Russian secret services (FSB) were under house arrest. The German Public Television (ZDF) quoted Margaret Klein, an expert on Russian politics from the German Science and Politics Foundation, as saying that the two men allegedly arrested had held important positions. for intelligence in Ukraine. According to Klein, this is a very unfavorable picture of what is happening behind the scenes of the Putin regime.
In addition to the two men, the deputy chief of Russia’s National Guard, a heavily armed military unit of about 340,000 people directly under Putin’s close ally, Viktor Zolotov, is also said to have been arrested.
According to Margaret Klein, there are several possible reasons for the arrests of important people in the Russian security system. In the first place, it is likely that the various agencies within the services have shifted responsibility to each other because no one wants to be blamed for Putin’s failure in Ukraine.
It is also possible that the closest circle around the Russian president wanted to set an example of edifying those who may dare to oppose Putin. The third option is that people around Putin are trying to maintain the president’s reputation with the world by finding scapegoats among lower-ranking officials.
Apart from rumors of a planned coup, there has been a lot of speculation lately about whether Putin is seriously ill. Christopher Steele, the former head of Russia’s British intelligence bureau, told Sky News that sources inside and outside Russia had confirmed the disease without knowing how serious it was.
A few days ago, the British Times reported an audio recording in which a Russian oligarch said Putin was suffering from blood cancer. The unnamed Russian also said that Putin had undergone major back surgery shortly before ordering the invasion of Ukraine. The recording also speaks of serious discontent among Moscow’s oligarchs over Western sanctions against Russia.
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