But now it has been reported that 69-year-old Putin could soon vanish as he goes under the knife, with power transferred to Nikolai Patrushev.
Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect of the Ukraine war strategy and the man who convinced Putin that Kyiv was awash with neo-Nazis.
The claim was reported on Russian media outlet General SVR, which first raised issues of Putin’s health around 18-months ago.
They quote an anonymous former high-ranking Kremlin military figure as saying: “Putin has discussed that he will be undergoing medical procedures.”
