Ukraine-Russia war LIVE Putin may vanish for cancer operation as Moscow to seek payback by declaring all out war
VLADIMIR Putin faces cancer surgery and will hand power to his shadowy spy chief, a Kremlin insider has claimed.
Putin's health has been a source of speculation amid reports he is battling abdominal cancer and Parkinson's Disease.
But now it has been reported the Russian leader, 69, could go under the knife ? with power switched to hardliner Nikolai Patrushev, 70, who is a key architect of the war strategy and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv was awash with neo-Nazis.
Meanwhile, there are fears that Putin will soon declare a full-scale world war in "payback" after Ukraine continues to stall the advance of Russian troops.
Kremlin-controlled media has been careful not to refer to the invasion as a war - instead reffering to the conflict as a "special operation".
According to The Telegraph, a source close to military officials said: "The military is outraged that the blitz on Kyiv has failed. People in the army are seeking payback for failures of the past and they want to go further in Ukraine."
And UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said he expected Putin to use his May 9 address to declare "war with the world's Nazis", telling LBC: "He is probably going to declare on May Day that, 'We are now at war with the world's Nazis and we need to massmobilise the Russian people'.
"Putin, having failed in nearly all objectives, may seek to consolidate what he's got and just be a sort of cancerous growth within the country. We have to help Ukrainians and keep the momentum pushing them back."
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates...
Two hero Brits have been told they could face the death penalty by a Russian prosecutor after they were captured and paraded on TV.
The prosecutor of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic smirked as he told a TV crew that Brit fighter Shaun Pinner, 48, and 28-year-old Aiden Aslin could be executed.
Andrei Spivak said the men - who were caught trying to defend Mariupol in mid-April - were being charged with "crimes against civilians of the Donetsk People's Republic."
"The maximum punishment for these crimes is the death penalty," the prosecutor said.
Aiden was heard saying he understood the accusations against him but fiercely denied killing civilians.
It's highly unlikely the charges could have been brought without the Kremlin's approval.
Photos of Vladimir Putin have appeared to show him with a bloated face.
The images were released before Russia was slammed for bombing the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv.
Fiona Hill, the British former senior White House expert on Russia, told Politico: "Putin's not looking so great, he's been rather puffy-faced.
Hill added that it is known that the 69-year-old has back issues but it could be "something worse".
She said: "It could be that he's taking high doses of steroids, or there may be something else."
On April 30, reports from a Kremlin insider claimed that Putin "will be undergoing medical procedures."
The source confirmed that a date is yet to be confirmed as "doctors insist that he needs an operation."
More than 5.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24, the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported today.
The statistics are compiled from a variety of sources, mainly data provided by authorities from official border crossing points, the UNHCR said.
VLADIMIR Putin is likely to be suffering from Parkinson's and early stage Dementia while his paranoia and fear over traitors is driving him insane, a former KGB agent has said.
The Russian tyrant's health has long been the source of speculation, with Western intelligence suggesting he has serious health issues.
Despite Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov insisting Putin's health is "excellent", his recent public appearances following the shambolic Ukraine invasion have sparked rumours about his physical state.
But ex-Russian spy Boris Karpichkov, 62, said even members of Putin's inner circle would not be told about the state of his health in order to protect his "strongman" image.
The Russian defector, who now lives in the UK, said paranoid Putin views everyone as a "traitor" - and his health was an "especially sensitive issue" .
The former double agent told The Sun Online: "He is - or at least acts - insane and obsessed by paranoia ideas.
"He sees literally everyone, including those inside the Russian security services and even inside his close inner circle, to be 'traitors'.
"He is so suspicious and so obsessed with his paranoia ideas that he can be now compared with Stalin tyrant."
US First Lady Jill Biden will visit Romania and Slovakia this week to meet with displaced Ukrainian parents and children, aid workers, US service members and embassy personnel, her office said Monday.
Romania and Slovakia have taken in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their country.
In Slovakia on Sunday, celebrated as Mother's Day in the United States, Biden will travel to the city of Kosice and village of Vysne Nemecke to meet with refugees, aid workers and the Slovakians who are supporting them.
"On Mother's Day, she will meet with Ukrainian mothers and children who have been forced to flee their home country because of Putin's war," Biden's office said.
The first lady's visit is the latest show of US support for Ukraine and the countries assisting it.
Her trip follows a trip to Kyiv by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
During her May 5-9 travels, Biden will visit US service members in Romania on Friday before heading to Bucharest.
Russian sides have been banned from European competitions next season... in a boost to Scottish teams.
The ejection of Russian clubs is one of a number of penalties placed on the country by Uefa following the invasion of Ukraine.
Replacing Russia's automatic spot in the Champions League group stage will be the Scottish Premiership title winner.
Celtic effectively need just three points from their remaining three games to claim the league title, as well as a group stage place.
Rangers would join their bitter rivals in the group stage should they win the Europa League.
Even if they fail to triumph in the competition, however, they will be guaranteed Europa League group stage football at a minimum.
Hundreds of people remain trapped in a steel plant in the city of Mariupol.
Efforts to evacuate more civilians have been met with delays and it is not clear what is causing the hold-up.
Denys Shlega, a commander at the plant, said hundreds of people were still at the plant.
He also said Russian forces had resumed heavy shelling of the area.
Rafael Nadal has been slammed by retired Ukrainian tennis star Sergiy Stakhovsky, who is fighting in the war for supporting the banned Russian athletes.
As a result of Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine, Russians and Belarusians players cannot play in the UK this summer as they are barred from Wimbledon and other LTA tournaments.
Speaking on Sunday at the Madrid Open, Nadal said the ban was "very unfair" and it was "not their fault what's happening in this moment with the war."
These comments angered former player Stakhovsky, who returned to his home city of Kiev and joined the Ukraine's military reserves.
Stakhovsky, 36, tweeted Nadal directly and said: "Rafa, we competed together.
"We've played each other on Tour. Please tell me how it is fair that Ukrainian players cannot return home?"
The EU's Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson has warned "any state could be next" following Bulgaria and Poland's gas supply suspension.
Simson was speaking after a meeting of EU energy ministers, who were discussing how the EU should respond to Gazprom's announcement.
The energy commissioner says while there is no immediate threat to European gas supplies, the uncertainty of the situation remains.
Gas storage currently stands at 32% of EU capacity and is rising, Simson says.
According to the UN's human rights office the death toll of civilians in Ukraine has exceeded 3,000 people as of Monday.
Since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February, the UN has recorded 3,153 civilian deaths in Ukraine, but it estimates the real toll is likely to be "considerably higher".
According to reports, a loud explosion was heard in the city of Odesa this evening followed by a plume of smoke.
The press centre for the Security and Defense Forces of the South has said that Russian troops launched the strike on what they described as urban infrastructure.
They have also said that one religious building was damaged.
Putin is widely rumoured to be dating a glamorous gymnastics champion Alina Kabaeva.
The Olympic gold medal winner and TV favourite has not had any other suitors since 2008 despite being one of Russia's most eligible women.
She was first romantically linked with Putin a decade ago.
The Kremlin has denied she is his secret First Lady but rumours have persisted including claims she gave birth to at least one child.
One popular Russian newspaper called her the "First Lady, but in the shadows".
In September 2017 she was pictured with what looked like a wedding ring during an event in Italy.
Dramatic footage shows the moment a bomb from a Ukrainian drone flies through the sunroof of a Russian vehicle sending soldiers running for their lives.
In the clip, the bomb can be seen in the air, plummeting towards the target and falling directly into the vehicle.
It then explodes, sending smoke up the sky as terrified Russian troops are fleeing the scene.
It is unclear where the attack took place.
The video was shared on Twitter by government advisor Anton Gerashchenko who said the hit was executed by soldiers from Ukraine's 92nd brigade.
Russia could pull out of the ISS within 12 months throwing future space missions into disarray.
After weeks of threats, Putin's space chief said the country will quit the space station for good.
Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin blamed the move on mounting sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
He pledged to give US counterparts Nasa a year's notice.
It's unclear how partners will be able to continue without Russia's involvement.
Nasa has long relied on Roscosmos to blast its astronauts into space, though it will soon shift towards Elon Musk's SpaceX for that.
Russia also looks after engines that control the station's orbit and location.
"The decision has been taken already, we're not obliged to talk about it publicly," he told Russian media.
"I can say this only -- in accordance with our obligations, we'll inform our partners about the end of our work on the ISS with a year's notice."
Russia has launched a new military spacecraft designated Kosmos 2555 into orbit around the Earth.
Using Russia's new Angara 1.2 rocket, the payload was launched into orbit on April 29 by Kremlin officials.
The launch took place at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the town of Mirny, which is predominantly known for its diamond mines.
Kremlin officials said in a statement: "From the State Test Cosmodrome of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (Plesetsk Cosmodrome) in the Arkhangelsk Region, the combat crew of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces [VKS] successfully launched an Angara-1.2 light-class launch vehicle with a spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
"The launch of the carrier rocket and the launch of the spacecraft into the calculated orbit took place in the normal mode.
"Two minutes after the launch, the Angara-1.2 launch vehicle was accepted for escort by ground controls of the Titov Main Test and Space Systems Control Centre."
Economy Minister Robert Habeck earlier said that Germany is not ready to ban gas but would be able to deal with a ban on Russian oil by the end of the year.
"We have managed to reach a situation where Germany is able to bear an oil embargo," Habeck told a news conference. But he warned this didn't mean there would be no consequences.
Talks over how the EU can wean itself off Russian energy supplies have been taking place in Brussels.
Earlier member states remained divided on a Russian energy embargo.
Russian state TV has threatened to drown the UK under a radioactive tsunami in a bizarre new propaganda video.
In the chilling broadcast the presenter also showed how the Kremlin's latest world-ending Satan 2 nuclear missile could also annihilate Britain.
The warning comes as the Kremlin raised the prospect of devastating military strikes on Britain over its deal to supply weapons to Ukraine.
Pro-Putin TV pundits previously threated the use of the world ending RS-28 Sarmat missile - gleefully spouting its ability to wipe England from the map.
And now raising further plans for all-out war, brazen host Dmitry Kiselyov heralded Russia's second option to "plunge Britain into the depths of the sea" with its "underwater robotic drone Poseidon".
In a chilling graphic he warned the missile would raise a giant tsunami wave up to 1,640ft high.
He later predicted the surging water - reaching almost halfway up Scafell Pike in the English Lake District - would contain "high doses of radiation" turning what is left of Britain into a "radioactive desert".
Two hero Brits have been told they could face the death penalty by a Russian prosecutor after they were captured and paraded on TV.
The prosecutor of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic smirked as he told a TV crew that Brit fighter Shaun Pinner, 48, and 28-year-old Aiden Aslin could be executed.
Andrei Spivak said the men - who were caught trying to defend Mariupol in mid-April - were being charged with "crimes against civilians of the Donetsk People's Republic."
"The maximum punishment for these crimes is the death penalty," the prosecutor said.
Aiden was heard saying he understood the accusations against him but fiercely denied killing civilians.
It's highly unlikely the charges could have been brought without the Kremlin's approval.
Photos of Vladimir Putin have appeared to show him with a bloated face.
The images were released before Russia was slammed for bombing the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv.
Fiona Hill, the British former senior White House expert on Russia, told Politico: "Putin's not looking so great, he's been rather puffy-faced.
Hill added that it is known that the 69-year-old has back issues but it could be "something worse".
She said: "It could be that he's taking high doses of steroids, or there may be something else."
On April 30, reports from a Kremlin insider claimed that Putin "will be undergoing medical procedures."
The source confirmed that a date is yet to be confirmed as "doctors insist that he needs an operation."
In a regular address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said those evacuated were due to arrive in Ukraine-controlled Zaporizhzhia today, with further evacuations planned later this afternoon.
"For the first time, there were two days of real ceasefire on this territory. More than 100 civilians have already been evacuated -- women and children first of all," he said.
The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration said that Monday's evacuation was due to begin at 7:00am local time (4am GMT).
One Russian news report put the number of civilians still in the plant at more than 500.
Ukrainian authorities planned to evacuate more civilians from Mariupol on Monday, after dozens were finally brought to safety following weeks trapped under heavy fire in a steel complex.
The sprawling Azovstal plant is the last holdout of Ukrainian forces in the strategic southern port city, which has been besieged by Russian forces since they invaded Ukraine on February 24.
The United Nations said Sunday that a "safe passage operation" was taking place at the Azovstal plant, which includes a maze of Soviet-era underground tunnels.
According to Kyiv, roughly 100 civilians have been evacuated from the plant, although Russia's defence ministry gave a lower figure of 80 civilians, including women and children.
"Those who wished to leave for areas controlled by the Kyiv regime were handed over to UN and ICRC (Red Cross) representatives," the Russian ministry said.
VLADIMIR Putin is likely to be suffering from Parkinson's and early stage Dementia while his paranoia and fear over traitors is driving him insane, a former KGB agent has said.
The Russian tyrant's health has long been the source of speculation, with Western intelligence suggesting he has serious health issues.
Despite Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov insisting Putin's health is "excellent", his recent public appearances following the shambolic Ukraine invasion have sparked rumours about his physical state.
But ex-Russian spy Boris Karpichkov, 62, said even members of Putin's inner circle would not be told about the state of his health in order to protect his "strongman" image.
The Russian defector, who now lives in the UK, said paranoid Putin views everyone as a "traitor" - and his health was an "especially sensitive issue" .
The former double agent told The Sun Online: "He is - or at least acts - insane and obsessed by paranoia ideas.
"He sees literally everyone, including those inside the Russian security services and even inside his close inner circle, to be 'traitors'.
"He is so suspicious and so obsessed with his paranoia ideas that he can be now compared with Stalin tyrant."
US First Lady Jill Biden will visit Romania and Slovakia this week to meet with displaced Ukrainian parents and children, aid workers, US service members and embassy personnel, her office said Monday.
Romania and Slovakia have taken in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their country.
In Slovakia on Sunday, celebrated as Mother's Day in the United States, Biden will travel to the city of Kosice and village of Vysne Nemecke to meet with refugees, aid workers and the Slovakians who are supporting them.
"On Mother's Day, she will meet with Ukrainian mothers and children who have been forced to flee their home country because of Putin's war," Biden's office said.
The first lady's visit is the latest show of US support for Ukraine and the countries assisting it.
Her trip follows a trip to Kyiv by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
During her May 5-9 travels, Biden will visit US service members in Romania on Friday before heading to Bucharest.
Ukraine says it has identified units from the armed forces of Belarus in the Ukrainian border regions of Volyn and Polissya.
In a Facebook post, officials said: "The threat of missile strikes on military and civilian infrastructure from the territory of the republic of Belarus by the Russian enemy remains".
It also claimed Ukrainian forces had intercepted and prevented 10 Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and had destroyed military equipment including two tanks, 17 artillery systems and 38 armoured combat vehicles.
Belum ada Komentar untuk "Ukraine-Russia war LIVE Putin may vanish for cancer operation as Moscow to seek payback by declaring all out war"
Posting Komentar