Rumors about Russian President Vladimir Putin's health are swirling again following the leak of hundreds of pages of Defense Department documents about the war in Ukraine and sensitive national security issues.
One of the leaked Pentagon files, found online on a social messaging platform called Discord includes the claim that on February 17 Ukraine learned of an alleged Russian plot to "throw" the war in Ukraine by March 5. It states that this was likely an attempt to sabotage the Russian president when he was allegedly scheduled to start a round of chemotherapy.
The sensitive government documents were found online in March in a small Discord chatroom of about two dozen teenagers called Thug Shaker Central. The chat group's leader was likely Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard's intelligence wing, who was taken into custody without incident on Thursday in connection with the leak.
The Pentagon has described the leak as a "deliberate, criminal act." It's unclear how long the classified files had been circulating online prior to their discovery.
According to the leaked document, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev masterminded a plan to sabotage Putin when he would be "unable to influence the war effort" as a result of his chemotherapy treatment.
The classified file states that the information came from an unidentified Russian source "with access to Kremlin officials."
"Russia planned to divert resources from Taganrog, Russia, to Mariupol, Ukraine and focus its attention on the southern front," it said. "According to [redacted] source, Gerasimov opposed the offensive; he informed Putin that the Forces' capabilities were superior to Russia's and cautioned that Russia would suffer heavy casualties were it to proceed with the offensive."
"[Redacted] on 22 February indicated that Gerasimov reportedly planned to continue his efforts to sabotage the offensive, noting that he promised to 'throw' the so-called special military operation by 5 March, when Putin was allegedly scheduled to start a round of chemotherapy and would thus be unable to influence the war effort," the document said.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry by email for comment.
Rumors about Putin's health and cancer have circulated frequently since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. Some of Putin's public appearances, in which he has seemed shaky and unwell, have fueled speculation about whether he has a serious illness.
Speaking to Newsweek in June 2022, three U.S. intelligence leaders said they had read classified U.S. reports that said Putin had undergone treatment for advanced cancer in April 2022.
In the same month Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the Russian president had undergone surgery for thyroid cancer, saying Putin's health was "excellent."
Olga Lautman, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis told Newsweek in May 2022 that Putin "exhibiting symptoms of sickness was more theatrics and distraction."
Teixeira is due to make an initial court appearance in Massachusetts on Friday.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
