VLADIMIR Putin could be ousted by a deadly plot launched by his closest allies to remove him from power, an ex-CIA agent has claimed.
Daniel Hoffman, a former Moscow station chief, believes Putin's position would be in danger if the war in Ukraine fails – with a plot to remove him potentially life-threatening.
Speaking to the Daily Beast, Hoffman said: “These guys that are going to do it are going to be so secret about it, so that Putin doesn’t find them and kill them first.
“It’ll happen all of a sudden. And he’ll be dead. Nobody’s gonna ask, "Hey Vladimir, would you like to leave?"
"No. It’s a f***ing hammer to the head and he’s dead. Or it’s time to go to the sanatorium. They schwack him for it. That’s what they’ll do.”
Speculation around the despot's health continues, with various reports claiming the Russian leader is suffering a variety of illnesses, including blood cancer and Parkinson's.
Putin has been seen in the past with his legs covered with a thick blanket at a parade, and appeared to shake uncontrollably during a meeting with Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
But Hoffman believes there are three key figures to keep a watchful eye on should the Russian president be replaced.
The names include defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who has played a crucial role during Russia’s war in Ukraine and Nikolai Patrushev, the chief of Putin’s Security Council.
Another name in the running, according to Hoffman, would be FSB intelligence agency director Alexander Bortnikov.
Read our Ukraine-Russia war blog below for the latest news…
- Joseph Gamp
US announces new G7 sanctions targeting Russia's defence sector
The United States on Monday announced new G7 sanctions targeting Russia's defence industry in a bid to hobble the Kremlin's ability to maintain the military machine during its invasion of Ukraine.
"G7 leaders will align and expand targeted sanctions to further restrict Russia's access" to Western technology that can support the Russian arms industry, the White House said.
And the US will also "aggressively target Russian defence supply chains… and limit Russia's ability to replace the military equipment it has already lost during its brutal war".
- Joseph Gamp
Lysychansk governor urges citizens to evacuate city
Regional authorities urged civilians on Monday to urgently evacuate the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk which is being attacked by Russian forces.
"The situation in the city is very difficult," Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region which includes Lysychansk, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
- Joseph Gamp
Zelenskyy to press G7 for more help as war rages on
President Volodymyr Zelensky will urge world powers to step up their support for Ukraine when he addresses the G7 summit on Monday, as Kyiv reels from the first Russian strikes on the capital in weeks.
US President Joe Biden and his counterparts from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies, meeting in the Bavarian Alps, have stressed their unity in the face of Russia's aggression — even as the global fallout worsens.
Zelensky is set to join the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Canada via video link at 10:00 am (0800 GMT).
In his daily address late Sunday, Zelensky renewed his calls for more weapons and air defence systems to be delivered to Ukraine and for fresh sanctions against Russia by G7 nations.
"We need a powerful air defence — modern, fully effective. Which can ensure complete protection against these missiles. We talk about this every day with our partners. There are already some agreements. And partners need to move faster if they are really partners, not observers," he said.
"Delays in the transfer of weapons to our state, any restrictions are actually an invitation for Russia to strike again and again."
Zelensky's appeal came after Russia struck a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine said, leaving one person dead and wounding four others including a seven-year-old girl.
- Joseph Gamp
UK helping ensure stolen Ukrainian grain does not make it to market
Britain is providing technology to ensure that any wheat stolen from Ukraine by Russia does not make it to the global market, Britain's environment minister George Eustice said on Monday.
Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and blockade of its Black Sea ports has prevented the country, traditionally one of the world's top food producers, from exporting much of the more than 20 million tonnes of grain stored in its silos.
Last week Turkey said it was investigating claims that Ukrainian grain had been stolen by Russia and shipped to countries including Turkey, but added the probes had not found any stolen shipments so far.
Russia has previously denied allegations that it has stolen Ukrainian grain.
"Russia, it appears, are stealing some wheat from those stores," Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told Sky News.
"What the UK government is doing is making available the technology that we've got to be able to test the provenance of wheat. We're working with other countries including Australia on this so that we can ensure that stolen Ukrainian wheat does not find a route to market."
- Joseph Gamp
‘Over 4,000 houses destroyed in Kharkiv’
A number of people have been left dead after Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region had recently been under heavy Russian bombardment.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional head, says the area was shelled again overnight.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine troops have destroyed 4,019 residential homes, 97 medical facilities and 427 educational institutions.
- Joseph Gamp
Boris heaps praise on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Boris met with the G7 today, in order to discuss the world’s approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He was full of praise for the President, saying he would be happy to host the wartime hero at Downing Street.
“I think that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has done an absolutely amazing job of leading his country and leading world opinion in an appalling time,” Johnson told ITV News.
“If he ever becomes free to leave and it makes sense for him to leave Ukraine, then obviously the UK would be only too honoured to host him.
“But the most important thing is for us to continue to be united here at the G7. And we are.”
- Joseph Gamp
Over half of Russian separatist forces dead, reports British intelligence
As Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine wages on, they continue to suffer heavy losses.
UK intelligence has reported that the Donetsk militia alone has lost 55% of its original force.
Other reports claim the invading force has lost over 30,000 soldiers since the war began.
- Joseph Gamp
Mayor of Kyiv pays tribute to fallen Ukrainians amid EU membership talks
Former boxer and mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has paid tribute to his fallen comrades as the EU announce Ukraine as been awarded candidate status.
“We paid a very high price for this chance,” he wrote on Telegram. “Yes, we still have a lot to do on the way to the European family.
“But I am sure that Ukraine will do everything necessary, fulfil all the conditions and pass the necessary laws. Because otherwise our state has no future. Indeed, our best defenders are dying for it.”
- Joseph Gamp
UK bans Russian gold, amid escalating tensions
Britain will join Canada and Japan in banning gold imports from Russia.
The Russian gold industry was worth $15.2bn to Russia in 2021 alone, meaning this will deal a potent blow to their economy.
The ban will come into effect soon, as the west looks to hit Russia with more sanctions as they continue their brutal invasion of Ukraine.
- Joseph Gamp
Russian missile fails during launch and boomerangs back
Dramatic video captures the moment a Russian surface-to-air missile system fires on itself in a bizarre malfunction.
In the footage, the missile can be seen shooting into the sky – before turning mid-air and slamming back into where it came from in an enormous explosion.
The short clip was reportedly shot in the Ukrainian city of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region, which is under the occupation of pro-Russian separatist forces and is on the front line of the war in Ukraine.
It was filmed in the early hours of Friday morning when Russian troops reportedly launched a missile to intercept an oncoming Ukrainian plane.
However, seconds later, the missile was returned to sender after the tracking system went haywire.
The video shows a huge explosion as well as bright flashes shooting down from the crash site.
- Joseph Gamp
Russia promises Belarus Iskander-M nuclear-capable missiles
Russia will begin sending nukes to its ally in the coming months, as the war with Ukraine escalates.
The Iskander-M missile is a short-range nuclear capable weapon.
Putin stated that it “can fire ballistic and cruise missiles, both conventional and nuclear types”.
- Joseph Gamp
It will take over 10 years to de-mine Ukraine, sources claim
Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has featured a key tactic, laying mines across the country.
In newly released information it was revealed that it will take over a decade to remove these mines.
When asked if Britain would Ukraine in de-mining the nation, Johnson had this to say: “Yes, I don’t want to get into the technical or military details, but you can take it from what we have already done in supplying equipment to the Ukrainians to help themselves protect that we are certainly talking to them at a technical level to help de-mine Odesa.”
- Joseph Gamp
Young Putin was ‘sneaky’ boy who would ‘pull out kids’ hair in a fight’
VLADIMIR Putin would “fight to the end” during scraps at school as a child, his former classmates and teachers claim.
The Russian tyrant was branded “sneaky” and a “problem causer” by those who knew him in his younger years – decades before he waged war in Ukraine.
According to his former pals, Putin would terrorise his school in Leningrad’s Dzerzhinsky district and would “get into a frenzy” should anyone pick a fight with him.
His newly qualified form teacher, 26-year-old Tamara Chizova, said she was driven to despair by the “disorganised” youngster who would “definitely cause problems”, reports The Times.
With a rebellious streak in him, his childhood best friend Viktor Borisenko recalled Putin was the first to join a fight when one broke out.
He said: “He could get into a fight with anyone. He had no fear.
“It never occurred to him that the other boy was stronger and might beat him up.
“If some hulking guy offended him, he would jump straight at him — scratch him, bite him, pull out clumps of his hair.
“He wasn’t the strongest in our class, but in a fight he could beat anyone because he would get into a frenzy and fight to the end.”
- Joseph Gamp
Inside sanctioned Russian billionaire’s £61m superyacht
A superyacht owned by a Russian tycoon boasting an eye-watering £61million price tag is set to be auctioned off after being seized.
The stunning 240ft vessel – named The Axioma – has a catalogue of bougie features including six decks, a pool with a swim-up bar and even a cinema.
Owned by Russian billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky, the mighty yacht was seized back in March amid Western sanctions over Vladimir Putin‘s bloody war in Ukraine.
It is now to be auctioned off for a huge sum of cash under the orders of Gibraltar’s supreme court, reports YouTube channel ESysman SuperYachts.
And the winning bidder will be setting sail amid copious amounts of luxury, with six cabins able to accommodate up to 12 guests.
All rooms are set on the main deck – which has large windows for breath-taking panoramic views.
- Joseph Gamp
Desperate Putin ‘calls up obese 20st retired general, 67,’
VLADIMIR Putin has called a morbidly obese general out of retirement to lead his troops in Ukraine as he is running out of senior officers, reports claim.
The Russian despot is now “scraping the barrel” and relying on 20st vodka-swilling General Pavel, 67, to revive his faltering invasion.
He is said to be in charge of Putin’s special forces in eastern Ukraine after the unit’s former commander was seriously injured in an artillery strike, a source told the Daily Star.
The hulking veteran reportedly served in Russia‘s bungled invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s and has over four decades’ experience under his straining belt.
General Pavel first became a commander of elite troops 25 years ago, but had settled into high-calorie retirement.
He reportedly scoffs five meals a day and washes it down with at least a litre of vodka.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukrainian forces ‘likely to have withdrawn from the remaining positions in the Donbas’
Ukrainian forces are likely to have withdrawn from the remaining defensive positions in Sieverodonetsk according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
In their latest intelligence update the Ministry said: “Most Ukrainian forces have likely withdrawn from their remaining defensive positions in the Donbas city of Sieverodonetsk.
“In April 2022, Russia revised its immediate campaign plan from aiming to occupy the majority of Ukraine, to a more focused offensive in the Donbas.
“Russia’s capture of the city is a significant achievement within this reduced objective. The settlement was a major industrial centre and it occupies a strategic position on the Siverskyi Donets River.
“However, it is only one of several challenging objectives Russia will need to achieve to occupy the whole of the Donbas region.
“These include advancing on the major centre of Kramatorsk and securing the main supply routes to Donetsk city.”
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