Putin receiving chemo for cancer, his people planning to oust him, say leaked US papers

Washington

Among the recently leaked documents from Pentagon also finds mention of a rumour surrounding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deteriorating health.

The papers marked “Top Secret” say that the president is undergoing chemotherapy and that Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev “devised” a plan to “sabotage” him while he undergoes medical treatment. 

It states that a top general is planning to "throw", or lose on purpose, the war while Putin undergoes chemotherapy.

The leak is part of the Pentagon documents breach that occurred last week where 100 documents containing sensitive information about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, South Korea, Israel and China, were made public.

“Russia planned to divert resources from Taganrog, Russia to Mariupol, Ukraine and focus its attention on the southern front,” the leaked document allegedly states, according to the UK-based news outlet Independent.

“According to [redacted] source, the plan for “the offensive” was suspected to be a strategy devised by [Mr Gerasimov and Mr Patrushev] to sabotage Putin.”

The documents, however, don’t give details on what this “offensive” plan entails and what sort of ailment is Putin going through.

For long there have been speculations surrounding Putin’s health. It is believed that the Russian leader might be undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

The document states that they received this information from an unidentified Russian source who has access to Kremlin officials.

After days of an internal investigation, the US enforcement authorities were able to nab the accused who is said to have leaked the sensitive papers.

On Thursday, Jack Teixeira, a member of the US National Air Guard, was arrested at his residence and charged with unlawfully copying and transmitting classified material.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the 21-year-old was arrested in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defence information.

According to Reuters, Teixeira was brought before a crowded federal court for the hearing. Boston's top federal national security prosecutor, Nadine Pellegrini, requested that the 21-year-old be detained pending trial. A detention hearing is set for Wednesday (April 19), Reuters reported. 

The leaked documents were said to be the most serious security breach in the US since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010. On Thursday, the Pentagon called the leak a "deliberate, criminal act."

(With inputs from agencies)

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